This was a big news for us as we came to know about this and im sure everyone of you out there must have been as stunned as we were on day one. But slowly as the time ticks the real picture becomes more clear. We got onto our toes and have come up with the following interpretations from the news we got form the Symbian giant. What everyone knows as for sure is that the Industry leaders are planning to unify the Symbian mobile platform and set it free. Foundation is to be established to provide a royalty-free open platform and accelerate innovation.

What we know..!

In the coming years the mobile phone is going to be in approximately four billion people’s pockets. Not only will people use it as a mobile but as a gaming device, music player, internet etc. To make these features evolve the present most widely used mobile platform needs to be set free.

With this in mind, industry leaders are coming together to establish Symbian Foundation, to bring to life a shared vision and to create the most proven, open and complete mobile software platform – available for free. To achieve this, the foundation will unify Symbian, S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) software to create an unparalleled open software platform for converged mobile devices, enabling the whole mobile ecosystem to accelerate innovation.

The work is expected to begin in early 2009 and membership is open to all at an yearly price of $1,500.

The Symbian Foundation platform will be available to members under a royalty-free license from this non-profit foundation. The Symbian Foundation will provide, manage and unify the platform for its members. Also, it will commit to moving the platform to open source during the next two years, with the intent to use the Eclipse Public License. This will make the platform code available to all for free, bringing additional innovation to the platform and engaging even a broader community in future developments.

The platform will be free and open to develop on from the start whether you are enthusiast, web designer, professional developer or service provider. To develop on the platform you will not need to be a member of the foundation. The Symbian Foundation’s developer program will provide a single point of access for developer support; providing a wide offering of tools and resources.

The Good…!

1. Mobile Phone Costs will Drop
2. A software will run on all cell phone devices on symbian OS
3. Free softwares for daily multi-tasking
4. Decline in Piracy
5. Integration with other mobile operating systems (viz. Google Android)

The Bad…!

1. Still in early stage
2. Present software market may undergo financial disturbance
3. Present Developers will be at loss (you have to be a member of the foundation)
4. No benefit to people at present
5. Eclipse Public Licence

The Ugly…!

1. The code can be leaked
2. New Viruses may develop
3. Developers may patent their software and add a huge price tag
4. No variability / same operating system on every device