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3GSM: Nokia, Sony Ericsson align tools for Symbian phones

By Junko Yoshida
iApplianceWeb
(02/18/03, 01:18:53 PM EDT)

CANNES, France - Nokia and Sony Ericsson said they will align the development tools for their mobile handset platforms, creating a unified tool set for applications running either Nokia's Series 60 or Sony Ericsson's UIQ platforms, both of which use the Symbian operating system. The companies announced their plans at the 3GSM World Congress.

The UIQ is featured in Sony Ericsson's smart phones, but uses intellectual property owned by Symbian Ltd. The platform supports a large-screen user interface for pen-based phones. In contrast, the Series 60 platform used in Nokia's smart phones (and available for licensing to other mobile handset makers) enables an ear-to-mouth user interface.

By aligning developer tools, "we hope to offer a lot of differentiation without fragmenting the platform," said David Levin, chief executive officer of Symbian (London).

The single tool set will allow application developers working in a Symbian OS environment to "write once and target both Series 60 and UIQ devices," Levin said. Developers have heretofore had to make "small conversions - roughly 10 percent of adjustment," to get Symbian OS-based applications running on platforms, he said.

Developers writing native applications for Series 60 platforms today use Visual C++ tools, and those writing for UIQ use Metrowerks' CodeWarrior tools.

Details of the new tool set will be unveiled at Symbian's developers' conference scheduled for April 29-30 at Excel Centre in London, Levin said.