Nokia Will Buy Symbian, Create Open Source PlatformNokia Will Buy Symbian, Create Open Source Platform

Nokia announced plans to buy the remaining shares of mobile OS developer Symbian (it already owns 48 percent) and join with others to make it an open platform.Nokia said it would pay $410 million for the rest of Symbian, whose software is used in two-thirds of smartphones. It is more popular in Europe than in the U.S., though, and new platforms such as Google's Android and Apple's iPhone could inhibit its growth.

Nokia also announced the formation of the Symbian Foundation to develop the software further. Other members include AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, and Vodafone among carriers and Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, and Motorola among handset makers. Nokia will contribute its Symbian and S60 software to the foundation, while Sony Ericsson and Motorola will contribute technology from UIQ, and NTT DoCoMo will add its MOAP assets. The result will be a unified open source platform to challenge Google's Open Handset Alliance and the LiMo Foundation.information,ChannelWeb