Majinate and Symbian today announced that the Accredited Symbian Developer (ASD) scheme is now available in both English and Chinese. By providing ASD examinations in Chinese for the first time ever, through a local company, Platomix, Majinate is making the scheme more accessible to developers in the region who want to gain a recognized accreditation in developing for Symbian.

Online examinations are now available in Chinese and English

 Beijing, San Francisco and London, 14th June 2010 - As Symbian maintains a majority share of the smartphone market in China, the ASD scheme is a highly accessible way for developers to establish a guaranteed, independently assessed skill set and level of expertise in Symbian development, which Chinese developers can use to target that market.

 This opportunity will also stimulate the wider mobile community in the region as businesses need to identify developers.  For example, as employers, OEMs, professional services or companies want to create an application for Symbian devices, they will have a pool of accredited developers to choose from and can ensure they are finding the right person for the task at hand.

 Since 2005, the ASD scheme has certified the skills of hundreds of Symbian C++ developers, enabling them to differentiate themselves in today's competitive IT job market.  The scheme, which is administered independently by Majinate, a non-profit Community Interest Company, was recently re-launched in English following an update.

 Candidates are certified when they pass an online exam, provided via an adaptive testing framework. The exam comprises a set of objectively-reviewed questions about Symbian C++, which have been calibrated during thousands of exams over five years to provide a high level of accuracy. These questions are derived from an annually-updated curriculum that keeps pace with enhancements in the Symbian platform. Supporting learning materials are available online and through Symbian's press publications, as well as through a network of training partners.

 Ian Weston, Founder of Majinate, said, "We're delighted to be able to announce a partnership with Platomix, a Chinese company, who will provide access to a fully translated ASD exam in China, as well as localized technical support and training. Symbian developers can now choose whether to take the ASD in English or Chinese. We are proud to offer developers the only independent and objective way to prove Symbian competency."

 David Chun, General Manager of China, Symbian, said, "Symbian developers can now ensure an independently verified skill set by taking and passing the ASD exam. It's a great way for the Symbian developer community to show achievement and measure expertise."

About Majinate


Majinate is a UK company formed in 2005 to support developer accreditation on Symbian. Founded by ex-Symbian staff we work closely with the Symbian Foundation to define the requirements for Symbian accreditation and deliver tests based on this curriculum through the Accredited Symbian Developer scheme.

 Majinate has offices in York, UK.

 For more information about ASD, please visit www.majinate.com

About Symbian Foundation Limited

 Symbian is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to driving innovation in the mobile space. The company manages the open source Symbian platform, which has shipped in over 360 million smartphones around the world to-date. Symbian's mission is to foster collaboration, contribution and ongoing participation among the industry to develop the best mobile experience possible for consumers.

 The company has offices worldwide to build and maintain close relationships with players throughout the global market. Symbian's board of directors includes AT&T Mobility LLC, Fujitsu Limited, Nokia Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, INC., Qualcomm Innovation Center, Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, ST Microelectronics NV, Texas Instruments Inc., and Vodafone Group Services Ltd. For more information please visit www.symbian.org and blog.symbian.org.