In their first significant cooperation for third-generation smart devices, Intel Corp., Nokia Corp. and Symbian Ltd. said they are working together to develop smart phones that will run on the Symbian operating system.
Intel also agreed to collaborate with Symbian to develop a reference platform, using the Symbian operating system and Intel’s XScale technology.
The announcement was made at the Symbian Expo.
The smart phones will be based on Nokia’s Series 60 platform, which is built on the Symbian OS. The Series 60 platform is licensed by major handset makers like Nokia, LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo and Siemens AG. The phones have color screens, easy-to-use interfaces and an extensive suite of applications, according to Nokia.
Intel also has joined the Nokia Series 60 Product Creation Community.
Nokia believes Intel will complement the Series 60 Platform by providing high-performance, low-power processing to enable mobile browsing, multimedia messaging and content downloading, as well as a host of personal information management and telephony applications.
“Working with Nokia and Symbian to help bring Series 60-based devices to market means that developers and phone manufacturers will have new compelling tools to deliver on the promises of 3G,” said Sam Arditi, vice president and general manager of Intel’s cellular and handheld group.
The reference design will enable handset vendors to differentiate themselves by expediting time to market, according to the companies.
The deal between Intel and Symbian “focuses on building the first 3G reference platform that utilizes both Intel’s and Symbian’s expertise in smart-phone technology,” said both companies.
