Symbian software turns to open-source

In a world where technology news are dominated by the launching of Apple iPad and Google Nexus One, it easy quite easy to oversee a long-standing operating system for cell-phones – Symbian OS, which is still accountable for 45% of smartphone sales worldwide. Surely that is an impressive figure, to say the least, even more so since Symbian has been around for the past decade.

In an attempt to fend off the threats posed by trend mobile phones such as the all-new Google Android or the Apple iPhone (now boasting 4G), the non-profit Symbian Foundation, as part of Nokia, has decided to turn all software for Symbian OS fully open-source.

Although the process of open-sourcing the 108 packages was expected to end by June, head of global alliances for Symbian Foundation Larry Berkin said that foundation members gathered speed for undisclosed reasons, most likely to steal some headlines from their counterparts who seemed to be enjoying their media monopoly.

While Symbian OS is usually associated with Nokia mobile phones, there are other manufacturers of great reputation which currently build Symbian devices, such as Sony Ericsson, Samsung or Sharp. Thus, open-sourcing should prove to be a very intelligent move in attracting more users who want an alternative for the iPhone or Nexus One.

One issue might arise from end-users changing and adapting Symbian software to their own needs, in that developing the open-source code in various directions might create confusion regarding compatibility between the modified software and the different versions of Symbian OS.