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Symbian: Article

Symbian Goes Open Source Up Against Android

It’s advertised as the largest conversion of proprietary software to open source ever by the Symbian Foundation
By Maureen O'Gara
Article Rating:
February 5, 2010 05:15 PM EST
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 4,373

Wireless Technology Magazine on Ulitzer

Nokia's Symbian operating system is now open source and free to all comers like Google's Android OS.

It's advertised as the largest conversion of proprietary software to open source ever by the Symbian Foundation, which shepherded it out.

Code for some features lags the release, which is four months ahead of its June deadline but two years after Android came out.

Old-style Symbian is used on 330 million phones currently made by Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Fujitsu and Sharp. The new stuff is meant to draw more fellow travelers.

The open source code, including the kernel, middleware and applications, some 40 million lines in all, is called Symbian 3 and supersedes the old Series 60 and Series 40. It's using the Eclipse Public License so contributors don't have to open source their widgetry, which may or may not bear other open source licenses. Not all versions may be compatible. There are development kits available.

Published February 5, 2010 – Reads 4,373
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More Stories By Maureen O'Gara

Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara

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