Symbian backers lure developers

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Nokia and Sony Ericsson, two of the world's biggest mobile phone makers, have said they plan to work together to make it easier for developers to build applications for the two companies' smartphones. Sony Ericsson and Nokia both make handsets based on Symbian's smartphone operating system, but the handsets use different user interfaces and have separate software developer kits (SDKs). On Monday, however, the companies said they would alighn the two SDKs, making it possible for developers to use a single set of tools to develop for both Nokia's Series 60 interface and the UIQ interface used by Sony Ericsson's P800. The ramifications extend to other companies as well, since Nokia has licensed Series 60 to several other handset makers, including Sendo, Samsung, Siemens and Panasonic. The companies made the announcement at the 3GSM Congress wireless trade show in Cannes, France. Nokia and Sony Ericsson will also create a common certification programme for Symbian OS applications, in an effort to ensure the quality of new smartphone programs. The scheme will let developers, network operators and phone customers test and certify Symbian applications, the companies said. Developers seeking to port existing applications to the Symbian OS will also get better support and documentation, the companies promised. Symbian said that the effort was aimed at increasing the number of applications for the platform, a key factor in persuading users to choose Symbian. "This new collaboration with Nokia and Sony Ericsson will drive even faster development and availability of innovative applications and services for Symbian OS phones," said Symbian chief executive David Levin in a statement. The companies allied with Symbian are currently facing off against their most aggressive competitor, software company Microsoft, in the nascent market for smartphones -- handsets with powerful processors that can run advanced programs as well as making phone calls. On Monday Symbian announced that Samsung, which has emerged into the top ranks of handset makers in recent months, will buy a 5 percent stake in the company for £17m, joining shareholders Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Siemens and Psion. Park Sang Jin, vice president of telecommunications at Samsung Electronics, said at a press conference that the company saw "great growth potential" in Symbian and would "try to make it a standard." For its part, Microsoft is planning to show a Samsung smartphone based on Windows for Smartphones at 3GSM. Microsoft also announced that T-Mobile will be rolling out a Windows smartphone in Europe later this year, joining carrier Orange. T-Mobile will also be offering Pocket MSN, a subscription-based service for Pocket PC and Windows smartphones that offers access to MSN features such as Hotmail. The company also said that Orange will be offering a service called Mobile2Market that makes it easier for users to download and install the latest applications for Windows smartphones.
If it moves, we cover it. See ZDNet UK's Mobile Technology News Section for the latest news, reviews and price checks on mobile phones, PDAs, notebook computers and anything else you can take away. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

5 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

7 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

8 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

9 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

10 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

10 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

12 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

12 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

12 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

12 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

13 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

16 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

17 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

17 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

18 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

19 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

20 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Latest in Application Development