Nokia-Controlled Symbian Gets New Partner In LG, Symbian Fight May Be On
Well, there’s been no shortage of speculation that the earlier buyout of Symbian by Nokia would sour the taste of that Smartphone OS for other handset makers. I’m certainly guilty of thinking this would damage Symbian’s prospects. However, world #5 handset maker LG has announced they will license Symbian for use in their smartphones. There is no exclusivity in the deal, so LG could also license and offer Microsoft or Palm OS if they choose. Also, smaller Taiwanese handset maker Arima licensed Symbian for their stylus-based devices. Update by Mike: In other, related news, Symbian is telling people that Nokia won’t actually have control over the company. That’s not keeping other Symbian owners happy, though, as some are thinking of exercise rights to increase their share of the company.
