“Symbian heads ‘to top’ of smartphone boom”
According to a report published by ABI Research, Symbian OS will win the most smartphone market share by 2008.
"The mobile phone industry will sell 150 million smartphones in 2008, 15 times this year’s sales, with the Symbian OS leading the smartphone operating system market."
"The Symbian OS’ biggest appeal for handset makers and telcos such as NTT DoCoMo is the ability to customise the software’s functionality and appearance." "Most major handset makers, including Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson, have licensed the Symbian OS and also own stakes in the company."
"Microsoft’s Windows CE will remain in second place in four years’ time, … mainly appealing to large businesses who want smartphones to act as an extension of the PC."
"Linux will be the third-biggest choice, … appealing to mobile phone makers such as Motorola who are uncomfortable with the dominance of either Microsoft or Nokia, Symbian’s largest shareholder. The software is highly customizable and inexpensive, but is not as standardized as the Symbian OS, the report said, arguing that ‘fragmentation of Linux will continue to stagnate its growth.’"
