26 July 2008

Weekend Reading
Android & Symbian Expected To Become One OS

Analyst J. Gold Associates said for the InformationWeek that merger of the two Open Source competitors will begin within three to six months.

Nokia owned Symbian and Google created Android are destined to be combined to provide a single open source operating system for smartphones, an analyst firm said Thursday.

Nokia and other users of Symbian, which has the largest share of smartphones in the market, do not want to compete in the OS market, the firm said.

With Google, the search engine entered the OS market to push the industry toward openness and a level playing field in offering applications and services on the devices.

"We expect that within the next three-six months, Symbian and Android will combine to provide a single open source OS," J. Gold said. "Many of the same sponsors are involved in both initiatives."

Nokia recently acquired 100% ownership of Symbian and announced plans to turn it over to a new Symbian Foundation to create an open source OS, which would be offered to foundation members sometime in the first half of 2009.

In pursuing the same open source strategy, Google and supporters have formed the Open Handset Alliance for Android. Members include Motorola and Japan-based DoCoMo, which are also participants in the Symbian Foundation.

J. Gold said both sides have good reasons for joining. Google's investment in Android is "diluting the potential for it [Google] to build compelling cross-device applications where it can generate substantial revenues," the firm said. Symbian, on the other hand, could cement its position with the open source community by not appearing as just a Nokia public relations stunt.