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Mobile OS Symbian is now open source
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The Symbian Foundation has said it has completed the open source release of the source code for popular smartphone platform. The platform will now be competing head-to-head with the likes of Google's Android.
The Symbian platform, which has been developed over more than 10 years and has shipped in more than 330 million devices around the world, is now open source, with its source code available for free. The Foundation, in its statement said this was the largest transition of a platform from proprietary code to open source “in software history,” and has been completed four months ahead of schedule. The new, open-source Symbian will now be the basis for unlimited mobile development based on innovation and openness, said the statement. Symbian maintains the code for open source Symbian OS and software assets contributed by Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, and Sony Ericsson, including the S60 and MOAP(S) user interfaces.
In 2008, Nokia acquired Symbian Software Limited, converting it into a new independent non-profit organisation called the Symbian Foundation in 2009, with a view to bring the operating system to the open source community. Reports said Symbian is present on 45% of smart phones sold worldwide. Peter Ropke, Senior Vice President, Devices R&D, Nokia congratulated the Symbian Foundation on the migration to full open source well ahead of schedule, terming it a “significant milestone for the Symbian platform, the foundation and the entire mobile industry.” He said, “For Nokia, this truly open platform environment brings the promise of exciting new user experiences for our Symbian-based smartphones.”
Lee Williams, Executive Director of the Symbian Foundation said the development community “is now empowered to shape the future of the mobile industry, and rapid innovation on a global scale will be the result. When the Symbian Foundation was created, we set the target of completing the open source release of the platform by mid-2010 and it’s because of the extraordinary commitment and dedication from our staff and our member companies that we’ve reached it well ahead of schedule.”
Now that the source code is out in the open, virtually any individual or organization can now use and modify it for any purpose, be it for a mobile device or for something else entirely. That also opens up the possibility of the Symbian OS moving from mobile devices to computers and other devices, if some of the developers were to take up the challenge. Reports suggested that Nokia would be amongst the biggest beneficiaries of Symbian's transition to open source as it would see new development sans its involvement or investments, which will allow it to focus on creating new devices that can run the Linux-based Maemo platform. Moreover, Nokia would still be able to retain its leadership position in the Symbian-based smart phone market. Other smart phone manufacturers too stand to gain through competition to Google's Android by providing a viable alternative.
IDC Analyst John Delaney remarked, "It's increasingly important for smart phone platforms to offer developers something unique. The placing into open source of the world's most widely-used smart phone platform emphatically fits that bill. It will be exciting to see where this takes the industry." |
