The Android operating system has already occupied a place in the mobile operating system field. It advocates cooperation between open-source Symbian and Android, which is not only conducive to the development of the mobile phone software market, but also greatly increased customer needs.
These organizations operate based on the contributions of internal members. That is to say, suddenly, mobile phone software that was once closed by professionals also entered the Open Source Field. First, Open Handset Alliance, an Open mobile Alliance led by Google ). The Alliance has dozens of companies that work together in the development of Android operating systems.
Andy Rubin, head of Google's mobile platform, once called it "the first real and comprehensive open platform in the mobile phone field ". There is also the LiMo Foundation. The alliance established at the beginning of last year has successfully launched the Linux open-source operating system for mobile phones.
Recently, Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, said after acquiring all shares of Symbian that it will set up a Symbian Foundation to open the source code of Symbian and provide Symbian software to mobile phone manufacturers. The prospect is not clear yet. The question is how much space the potential competitors in the open-source mobile phone software field can cooperate and how they can cooperate.
Andy Rubin said: "We are all doing the same thing. In my opinion, there is no doubt that we should cooperate. But the problem is how we cooperate ." Lu Bin said that he would like to organize parties interested in cooperation to hold a meeting to discuss this issue.
Analysts believe that if the parties involved in open-source cooperation work together, their achievements will be much greater than those of independent research and development. Kevin Burden, analyst at ABI Research, said many mobile phone manufacturers had to invest in Microsoft due to concerns about poor compatibility and the absence of key open-source projects.
RIM, apple, and other companies that develop proprietary software. Boden said these open-source initiatives "cannot control the course like a worn-out ship", and the prospects of these open-source platforms are unknown. More than Google's Andy Rubin is calling for cooperation in the open-source mobile software field. At a recent conference in Tokyo, Japan, Symbian Chief Executive Officer Niger kriford Nigel Clifford said.
After the open-source Symbian Foundation was officially launched, he hoped to cooperate with Google in some way. Morgan gilis Morgan Gillis, executive director of the LiMo Foundation, also said he would not mind working with Android. Gilis said: "the two sides have a broad space for cooperation ."
How to merge? What is the prospect? One possibility is that the Open Mobile Alliance joins the new Symbian Foundation and uses part of the Symbian code in the Android software. Symbian can use the user-friendly interface of Android for reference.
This feature can help Nokia and other mobile phone manufacturers to have stronger capital in the competition with Apple's iPhone products. In addition, Symbian can also benefit from the Dalvik software developed by the Open Mobile Alliance. This software helps the Symbian Foundation to replicate the success of Sun Microsystems's Java. Other mobile phone manufacturers can use software developed by Google in products based on the Symbian or LiMo operating system.
Jack goldjack Gold, president of J. Gold Associates, a market research organization, even believes that LiMo or Symbian may be merged with Android. GE de said: "The problem is that there are too many participants in the open source field. It makes no sense to have so many participants in the same market to do the same thing. If you combine all your efforts into one, the effect will be better ."
However, members of Symbian deny this statement. "The Android operating system and LiMo are more likely to be merged than Symbian, because they both use the same technical architecture," gilis said ." Gilis also believes.
Symbian and Android have never discussed further cooperation, not to mention merging. Competition is still the main melody. Of course, the Android and Symbian foundations are more likely to be independent. Both parties aim to snatch a larger market share and more profits for their "Leader"-Google and Nokia.
Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, a mobile phone consultancy in the UK, said: "This is just like suggesting that Pepsi and Coca-Cola be merged. Nokia owns all the shares of Symbian and will become the largest open source contributor to the Symbian Foundation. In Nokia's view, there is no commercial temptation to work with Google ."