Samsung buys into Symbian phone OS

By Alun Williams

Posted on 17 Feb 2003 at 13:00

Symbian has acquired a 5 per cent share holding in the Symbian consortium for £17m. This is the British-based company that produces the sophisticated OS found within phones from the likes of Nokia, Siemens and Motorola. That's smartphones without the trademark symbol (a la the Smartphone OS from Microsoft).

The ownership of Symbian already reads like a Who's Who of the mobile phone industry and now Samsung has joined their ranks. The new breakdown is as follows. Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson each have a 19 per cent share, Psion holds 25 per cent, Panasonic 7.9, Samsung 5 and Siemens 4.8.

Back in August 2002 Samsung had already announced a commitment to Symbian-based mobile technology - Samsung turns to Nokia for mobile software.

Samsung - the world's third-largest manufacturer of wireless handsets - has a foot in both camps, however, when it comes to the future development of mobile platforms. As well as signing up for the Symbian take on mobile operating systems, Samsung has signed up to provide new wireless Windows-based devices.

At the 3GSM World Congress 2003 in Cannes today, Microsoft and Samsung, officially unveiled the Samsung SGH-i700 'MIT' (Mobile Intelligent Terminal). This is a GSM/GPRS-enabled 'smart' wireless Pocket PC-based device.

'This wireless device unites Samsung's innovative handset technology and Microsoft's powerful software to bring a stylish and multifunctional next-generation smart device option,' said H.W. Kim, vice president of the Mobile Communication Division at Samsung Electronics. 'We look forward to strengthening our product portfolio as a result of our continued collaboration with Microsoft to bring Windows-powered devices that enable companies and individuals to reach their full potential at work or at play.'

The Samsung MITs SGH-i700 Pocket PC enables you to wirelessly access Microsoft Outlook messages and data, play media files, and browse the Web. As well as make phone calls and send SMS messages. It has an integrated digital camera and an SD card slot.

No precise release dates are available, but Microsoft promises the device will be available 'soon' on GSM/GPRS wireless networks.