Nokia's Symbian Foundation takes a big swipe at Google Android and its Open Handset Alliance, which earlier this week came under fire for reportedly suffering a series of setbacks that could cause delayed releases of Google Android-based devices by several months. Google has since said that its Android plans remain on schedule.
"This is a direct challenge to Google's Android initiative, although somewhat belated," Gold wrote in his analysis of the Symbian Foundation. "I expect this to provide considerable tabulations in the market, although there are a number of steps that need to take place before this transition is completed."
Nokia on Tuesday announced that it has partnered with Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo to unite the Symbian operating system, the S60 platform, the UIQ software platform and the MOAP application platform to create the single open source platform. AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone have also entered the pact to extend a unified software platform.
The Symbian Foundation is a non-profit that will be open to all organizations. Nokia said it plans to contribute its Symbian and S60 software to the foundation, while Sony Ericsson and Motorola will contribute technology from UIQ. NTT DoCoMo has also indicated that it will contribute its MOAP assets.
Nokia said Tuesday that member contributions to the foundation will come through open collaboration and will be integrated to enhance the platform. The foundation will make certain components available as open source at the launch and then work to establish further open source mobile software offerings. Nokia said the software will be available over the next two years and will be released under Eclipse Public License (EPL) 1.0.
Meanwhile, Nokia also announced its intent to acquire the remaining 52 percent stake in Symbian that it doesn't already own for a price tag of roughly $410 million.
While Symbian as a mobile operating system has yet to take off in the U.S., it has had a stronghold in Europe. Some estimates indicate that Symbian holds about two-thirds of the market for smart phone operating systems. Currently, there are more than 200 million phones across 235 models that are based on the Symbian OS, along with tens of thousands of third-party applications available for it.
According to Gold, the Symbian Foundation, which also includes several members of Google's Android initiative, could win out over its chief rival, especially if Symbian makes good on its word to transition from a profit making licensor to an open source provider of a mobile OS that anyone can use on a royalty free basis.
"There is no question that this is a direct challenge to Android and its open source roots," Gold wrote. "Given that a number of platform companies who are founders of the Symbian Foundation are also part of Google's Android program (e.g., Motorola, Samsung), it will be interesting to see if the commitment to Android remains as firm as when Android was first announced and hailed as the next great hope for mobile devices."
Gold said Android's rumored delays, which he estimates could see devices delivered in 2009 as opposed to the second half of this year as Google promised, could have soured some of Android and the Open Handset Alliances more than 30 partners, which includes heavyweights like Sprint, T-Mobile and China Mobile.
"I suspect many of the members of Android who joined in this effort are hedging their bets," Gold noted. "Symbian is a known entity and currently powers the majority of smart phone devices in the marketplace. It is nearly always easier to start from something you know and change it (Symbian), then to start from scratch (Android)."
And while Google Android appears to be the Symbian Foundation's most direct target, Gold said the initiative undertaken by Nokia could have a more profound impact on the mobility market as a whole and other competing operating systems.
NEXT: Are Windows Mobile, iPhone, BlackBerry Next?
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