Vendor Claims First Antivirus Program For Smart PhonesVendor Claims First Antivirus Program For Smart Phones

Anti-virus vendor Trend Micro said Tuesday that it is offering what it claims is the first antivirus and antispam program for smartphones.

The company said its Trend Micro Mobile Security product protects devices based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 platform now and will support the Symbian OS starting in January. The release comes shortly after trojans were found to have attacked some Symbian devices.

"As the number of people using (smart) devices increases, they become more enticing targets for virus writers," Raimund Genes, a Trend Micro executive, said in a statement.

The company said the problem will be exacerabated by the popularity of the devices as holiday gifts. The first version of the product will be free will expire in June 30, 2005. The company didn't provide pricing information for after that time.