Gameware Development Ltd. has announced that it has joined the Symbian Platinum Program to enable its SceneMachines Division to support the growing market for smartphones based on Symbian OS™. As a Platinum Partner, Scenemachines is extending its LivingPictures™ application and 3D technologies to the Symbian ecosystem. Symbian Software Limited develops and licenses Symbian OS, the global industry standard operating system for smartphones, Symbian OS licensees account for over 85% of worldwide mobile phone sales1 and in 2003, more than 6.67million phones based on Symbian OS were shipped worldwide.

"This partnership reflects our commitment to the growing 3D mobile application market and our intent to build upon our mobile strategy," said David Hothersall, SceneMachines' Business Development Director. "By becoming a Symbian Platinum Partner, we can further expand our game and application brands, build our licensee network and strengthen our relationships with users, application developers, smartphone manufacturers and network operators."

"The openness and flexibility of Symbian OS allows us the opportunity to bring LivingPictures and our 3D technologies to any number of smartphones based on Symbian OS after their manufacture. We are excited that LivingPictures and our 3D solutions now have the opportunity to build on the great functionality of the Sony Ericsson P900, the Siemens SX1, the Nokia 6600 and the entire family of smartphones based on Symbian OS, to make the smartphone more ubiquitous and personal than ever before."

LivingPictures delivers next generation messaging to smartphones based on Symbian OS. The consumer takes a photo of the desired subject – human, animal or even an inanimate object such as a cuddly toy or a pint of beer. The photo is then mapped over a 3D mesh and facial features are plotted to the image with the easy-to-use software. Add a voice or sound file and the 3D subject speaks the recorded message – often with hilarious results.

The whole process takes no more than 30 seconds and files can be saved for future use. The resulting, postcard-style "LivingPicture" can then be sent as an MMS message to most colour screen handsets. The recipient's phone does not need a pre-downloaded player as the new "LivingPicture" contains the player as well. The application is only 200k in size and created files around 30k (depending on the size of the voice message).

SceneMachines offers a service platform for mobile network operators, and managed service providers who are interested in offering mobile content management services to enterprises. By becoming a Symbian Platinum Partner, SceneMachines ensures the close integration of their solutions with smartphones based on Symbian OS, providing simple and powerful management capabilities for enterprises looking to deploy applications and deliver content to mobile employees.

"Powerful 3D engines and animation technologies are becoming a fundamental requirement in today's smartphones and SceneMachines is an industry expert in 3D simulation and interactive entertainment," said Ian Weston, VP Partner Support, Symbian. "This technology shows the power of smartphones based on Symbian OS and we are pleased to have Gameware Development Ltd join the Symbian Platinum Program, bringing its LivingPictures technology to the Symbian ecosystem."

Web: www.scenemachines.com