Nokia buys control of Symbian

A large number of mobile handset manufacturers have been using the O/S core
from Symbian, a Consortium led by Nokia. What endeared users to Nokia and
Symbian was the fact that though Nokia is the leader in handset manufacture,
Symbian was not entirely controlled (though influenced) by Nokia. With the
recent decision of Nokia to increase its stake to controlling levels, Nokia &
Symbian will be seen in the same light as PC and Microsoft – a development
many will NOT wholeheartedly welcome. Many see this development as the
drawing of the battle-lines – with Motorola & Microsoft (American) on the one
hand and Nokia & Symbian (European) on the other hand. Symbian has a lion’s
share of the mobile handset market; Palm O/S and Linux have a very small
share; Microsoft Windows Mobile was nowhere till a year ago but quietly making
inroads. It is an interesting development with far reaching consequence. The
coming years will see interesting developments.