OStatic

There's more momentum on the mobile open source front. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT Docomo announced today that they will unite Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) into one open mobile software platform. In addition, the Symbian Foundation is now formed, with many prominent early members, including AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone. Nokia will also buy out the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that it doesn't already own, for $410 million. Is Nokia only aiming to stop paying hefty Symbian license fees, or does this point to a promising new open source mobile platform? What does this mean for Linux phones?

Some comments made by a Nokia VP at the Handsets World conference have the open source community in a bit of a flap. According to Business Week, Nokia's Dr. Ari Jaaksi told the audience We want to educate open-source developers. There are certain business rules [developers] need to obey, such as DRM, IPR [intellectual property rights], SIM locks and subsidised business models.