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Quite a bit of hoopla surrounds PalmSource and Microsoft when those companies update their mobile operating systems. While they get a lot of attention, Symbian has (relatively) quietly maintained its position as the world's leading smartphone platform supplier with about 20 million mobile handsets sold.

When that organization enhances its eponymous OS, however, as it did this week with Symbian OS v9, you're only receiving part of the story. That's because most manufacturers who build Symbian-based handsets add a second interface layer—usually Series 60, but sometimes UIQ—to provide some of their smartphones functionality, look, and feel.

So in essence, to use a housing metaphor, Symbian is the foundation, plumbing, and electrical system; the interface is the furnishings and appliances; and the hardware is the frame upon which the smartphone is built.

With Symbian OS v9, the company asserts licensees can churn out smartphones more quickly and cheaply, at the same time as making them less expensive, smaller, and more powerful for consumers. For carriers, the update supports revenue-generating services, content, and applications intended for their 2.5G and 3G networks.

As IDC Program Manager for European Mobile Devices Andrew Brown commented, "Handset vendors need smaller and cheaper phones with high-end capabilities to allow network operators to deliver value-added content and services to their customer base."

Brown thinks Symbian meets these requirements.

He continued, "In Symbian OS v9, Symbian has enabled critical market requirements for device management and security, as well as providing a platform for online gaming, music and enterprise services. Symbian OS v9 is also providing handset manufacturers the opportunity to reduce both phone development and build cost, ultimately reducing the time to market of phones based on Symbian OS."

Enhancements
For music, gaming, video and other types of digital content, Symbian OS v9 supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, USB mass storage, advanced audio mixing and playback, as well as the latest MPEG and OMA DRM standards. The platform also provides for multi-mega-pixel camera phones, a variety of screen sizes and orientations, and multiple displays (ala Nintendo DS), plus 3D graphics, multimedia, and graphics acceleration.

With it, manufacturers can leverage the latest generation of ARM-based processors to enable faster and more powerful Symbian-based phones with improved battery life. New software development tools include ARM's RealView compiler to substantially improves performance of gaming and multimedia applications.

Enterprises and network operators benefit from improved device management through OMA-compliant Device Management solutions. So network operators and enterprise IS managers will be able to access a user's phone overthe air to deploy new services, capabilities, and applications, or to diagnose a problem, as well as to audit applications installed on a phone.

The updated platform also provides new enterprise functions such as enhanced filtering and sorting of IMAP e-mail, as well as new group scheduling capabilities, including accepting meeting invitations from standard PIM applications such as Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook.

Java support gives developers the opportunity to create advanced Java-based applications and services. Fully compliant with network operator Java specifications and Java Community Process standards, Symbian said OS v9 continues to support the latest Java innovations.

Symbian licensees are currently in the process of developing Symbian OS v9 smartphones. The first of these should ship during the second half of the year.

The following company's have Symbian-based phones in production and development: Arima, BenQ, Fujitsu, LG, Lenovo, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Sendo, Sharp, Siemens, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.