200 Million By Year End? Symbian's latest shipment figures, released this week, show that 165 million Symbian devices have now been shipped. The forth quarter and the Christmas period have traditionally given a boost to the overall shipment figures, so could we see 200 million devices shipped by the end of 2007?

Statistically the odds are probably against achieving this milestone in 2007. A figure close to 25 million devices shipped in the final quarter seems more realistic. The past two years have seen shipment increases Q3 to Q4 running at about double the Q2 to Q3 increase. However, this year the Q2 to Q3 increase was reduced by significant growth in the second quarter. Overall a 20% increased in final quarter shipments looks likely, particularly given the presence of new Samsung devices in the market and the Sony Ericsson W960 staring to ship. This would see around 25 million devices shipped in the last quarter, bringing the total shipments at the end of 2007 to around the 190 million mark.

On that basis to 200 million mark will come sometime in February 2008, with the 300 million mark looking achievable before the end of 2008. In fact it would not be unrealistic to expect 100 million Symbian devices to be shipped in 2008. However will 2008 be the beginning of the end to the golden weather?

To date Symbian has had limited competition. Microsoft has failed to make significant headway with Windows Mobile, Palm has flagged, and while RIM has been plugging away it remains relatively niche.

Microsoft is certainly not giving up and RIM has show signs of moving to a more consumer orientated model in the hope of boosting sales. The appearance of the iPhone and announcement of the Open Mobile Alliance seems to offer more competition. However, Apple has always taken a closed approach to its OS - one of the most significant reasons Apple failed to take a larger share of the PC market was its refusal to license to other hardware manufacturers - the same attitude is likely to see the iPhone achieve good but ultimately limited sales.

Although the Open Mobile Alliance is an interesting development overall Linux is still having problems getting to volumes. I remember ACCESS being very bullish about their Linux OS at last year's Orange Partner Camp, but as yet no devices have appeared. The problems for Linux are three fold. First its not free, the development costs are really no different from those for any other existing OS; there is a shortage of embedded Linux engineers, Symbian has had close on 10 years to build a work force of knowledgeable engineers; and design by committee rarely works well.

In addition to this, Symbian will become a platform of Linux developers. P.I.P.S. and Open C have already taken a step in that direction. As processor and memory capacities on Symbian devices increase, expanded support for standard desktop API will follow. The result being that Linux developers will have their greatest opportunity on Symbian OS.

The likelihood that Symbian will be pressured by serious competition in 2008 is minimal. That day will come, most probably from Linux, and in many ways that is a good thing. The smartphone market will be huge, certainly over 1 billion handsets annually, and there will be room for several big players. After all the last thing the smartphone market needs is a de-facto monopoly OS: We have that in the PC market and look where that has got us. A reminder, SymbianOne Monitor is now avaiolable for download from your Mobile via the SymbianOne MOSH or you can also follow updates from Jaiku. On facebook? Join this Symbian OS enthusiast group!

Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices - Group Pledges to Unleash Innovation for Mobile Users Worldwide - A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Enter Android...

Touch screen W960 Walkman® phone in stores before the holiday season - The W960 Walkman® phone will start to ship from November 2007. The W960, a potent combination of slim UMTS and Wi-Fi(TM) enabled phone with high performance media player, will be available in selected markets across the globe in time for the Christmas season.

20.4m Symbian smartphones shipped in Q3 2007 - Symbian Limited, developer and licensor of Symbian OS™, the market-leading operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones, has released unaudited financial and operational figures for the third quarter ended 30 September 2007.

Quickoffice Partners with Epocware and Soundview Executive Book Summaries® - Quickoffice, Inc., the leading provider of mobile Office® productivity software, has announced new distribution partnerships with both Epocware/Paragon Software Group and Soundview Executive Book Summaries.

Symbian News updates from the Smartphoneshow

• Your Web Everywhere: Opera Mini 4 hits the streets


• Vodafone and Nokia agree to launch integrated Vodafone services on Nokia handsets


• Makayama introduces Mobile Ringtone Studio for Nokia


• FusionOne Announces Mobile Phone Backup Service for Java Platform


• Cortado to Present Mobile Business Trends at the Cortado Summit 2008


• David Wood of Symbian Discusses the Future of Generation M on the Mobile Entertainment Podcast


• Nokia MOSH announces SEEK - the third dimension of User Generated Content for mobile devices


• Nokia and Reuters team up to transform how journalists file stories in the field


• mBrain Software announces three new editions of Pdf+ 1.75 for S60 3rd edition and UIQ 3.x


• Save The Date - Nordic Multi MEdia Conference, Nov 13, 14, Helsinki

LBS News updates

• Tele Atlas Supports and Recommends the Revised Offer From TomTom


• Enterprise Navigation Now Available


• Trials of super-fast mobile broadband on track for success


• LBSzone Alert, Nov 7, 2007 - A weekly update on mobile technologies and location-based services


• Mobile Monday Mid-Atlantic hosts panel on white hot mobile location based services (LBS) market


• Google Android Operating System Will Gain 2 Percent Global Smartphone Share in 2008

Interested in more LBS news and resources? Visit our friends at LBSzone.com

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Announcing the 2008 NAVTEQ LBS Challenge Eight previous NAVTEQ Global LBS ChallengeR participants have received venture capital funding and nine past LBS Challenge winners have launched commercial applications on major wireless carriers. Register your non-commercial LBS application in the 2008 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in one of three regions: Americas, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) or Asia-Pacific(APAC). This could be your year. Dream. Develop. Win.

COMMUNITY / DEVZONE ANNOUNCEMENTS

MOSH Mobile Client Comes To Beta Labs Nokia Beta Labs has announced the availability of a S60 client enabling access to MOSH. While it is little more than a browser front end Nokia is hinting at it becoming a rich client over time.

NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge(R) Launches in Asia-Pacific Region - NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions (LBS), announced the launch of the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, the premier event for wireless LBS innovation, for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Final countdown for Nokia Mobile Rules! competition submissions - the business plans stream of the Mobile Rules! competition closes in less than two weeks and entrants are encouraged to submit their business plans by visiting the competition site: www.mobilerules.org..

S60 Eseries Plug-in Released By Forum Nokia - For all those developers who have been waiting to optimize their applications for the Nokia E90 the wait is over. Forum Nokia has now made the Nokia Eseries SDK Plug-Ins for S60 C++ SDKs public..

Google is the first choice among wireless developers for developing location-enhanced (LBS) apps

Suggested Reading... S60 Development In Your Pocket

CAREERS

The SymbianOne Career Center - Browse the current opportunities available for wireless developers and symbian programmers. Don't see a job you like? Looking for a developer? Send details to us at SymbianOne and we'll list your announcement right here in the newsletter... best of all this is a FREE service.

• Senior Mobile Developers - Plusmo’s mission is to provide the ultimate mobile experience for users by bringing together advanced technologies and easy to use services for mobile phones. Plusmo’s innovative widget service lets users run cool “widgets” on their mobile phones. There are over 20,000 widgets and mobile mash-ups on Plusmo, most of them created and shared by end users and publishers with no coding knowledge.
• Network Engineer
• Symbian Software - Excellent Developers Required to 50k - London
• Project Manager
• java/oracle developer

Link to SymbianOne.com - have you added a link to SymbianOne from your web site yet? To make things a bit easier for you, we've included a small graphic [below] that you are welcome to use.

Symbian OS Software Applications for the Nokia N95

Suggested Application... Handy Tools Pro for S60 - Handy Safe software for S60 smartphones is a perfect assistant for secure and convenient data managing. Keep your mind free from countless numbers and letters. Have all of your important information in one place, safe, easy to access, and always with you with Handy Safe software for S60.

• WorldMate Professional for Series 60
• LCG Jukebox (for Symbian)
• IM+ All-in-One Messenger AIM/iChat, MSN/Live Messenger, Yahoo!, ICQ, Jabber and Google Talk for S60
• Advanced Call Manager for Nokia S60 3rd edition
• Media Studio 4.0 for Nokia®

Attendee Choice Awards at CES 2008
Three consumer LBS application developers will be chosen to showcase their solution in the Tele Atlas booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008, with live SMS voting on which applications the attendees like best.

The NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge – Europe
This global program challenges application developers around the world to build innovative location-based services (LBS) that work with mobile phones and/or wireless handheld devices using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ maps.

deCarta DevCon 2007
deCarta's devCON'07 is a unique opportunity for you to get first-hand perspective and information from the technologists and industry experts who are bringing new capabilities, technology and "magic" to this booming market.

Nokia World
Nokia World 2007 articulates the mobilized and enriched internet experience that is becoming more accessible and relevant to everyone. We will share thoughts about how new collaborative user relationships, individuals, communities, and businesses are creating and sharing a wealth of information and opportunities.
December 4-5, 2007

Reach thousands of wireless developers and mobile industry architects by placing your message within the bi-weekly SymbianOne Monitor AND the LBSzone Alert -- 2X MORE EXPOSURE!

Request the 2007 SymbianOne Rate Card & Media Kit - Promote your application, device, or services using online banner ads, newsletter sponsorship, or direct email to thousands of mobile technology professionals. Reach thousands of developers and mobile industry architects... Interested in reaching a large, targeted audience of mobile developers, enthusiasts, and wireless technology professionals? Contact us for more information and sponsorship information - info[at]symbianone.com. We can offer you a very competitive, focused campaign. Interested in email a targeted list rental? Contact us for more info.

News Archive | Articles | Reviews | Device Gallery | Tradepubs | Books | Events Calendar | Shop | Community | Advertise