DoCoMo Props Up Symbian
An extensive article in Wireless Week makes it clear that Motorola is only developing some Symbian handsets at the request of carrier partners “such as NTT DoCoMo”, which have invested in Motorola to keep the Symbian development going. Motorola’s primary OS emphasis is on its Linux/Java platform and Microsoft’s OS, neither of which is as expensive in royalties or implementation costs as Symbian, says Greg Besio, Motorola’s corporate vice president of mobile devices software.
“We are trying to grow in Japan, and DoCoMo has asked us to continue to invest in Symbian devices,” Besio said. “So it’s not a broad portfolio strategy, but we’ll have some particular products that will support the Japanese market.”
Jerry Panagrossi, Symbian’s vice president of U.S. operations, stresses he is happy with the cards Symbian is holding. He notes the OS platform claims more than 54 handset models, including 16 launched for 3G W-CDMA service with the likes of Japan’s NTT DoCoMo. Symbian shipped 14.5 million handsets in the first half of 2005.