RIM and Symbian partner for mobile email

Research In Motion and Symbian are teaming up to give their customers access to email on mobile phone handsets.

The companies will today announce at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) trade show in New Orleans a partnership to provide RIM's BlackBerry email service on handsets using the Symbian operating system. The deal means that cellular service subscribers will be able to wirelessly send and receive email and corporate data on Symbian phones.

By working together, the two companies increase the potential size of their markets. RIM, which already makes a combination mobile phone and email device, can get further into the smart phone market by riding on the Symbian OS. For its part, Symbian can use the popular BlackBerry email service as a lure to attract handset makers - which can then use the service to draw in mobile operators and large businesses.

Although RIM's BlackBerry service and device are aimed at corporate customers, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company has been trying to broaden its market through partnerships with carriers such as Nextel Partners. At the same time, RIM is losing some of its core audience to companies such as services start-up Good Technology.

To stave off losses, the company is developing new features for its e-mail service. For example, it has created another version of its BlackBerry server software that will eventually allow subscribers to remotely synchronize information on its wireless devices with data on a corporate computer network.

UK-based Symbian has also been trying to expand the reach of its audience. Despite being owned by device makers Ericsson, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia, Psion, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson, the software maker has not claimed much ground in the market for smart phone operating systems, where it competes with Microsoft.

In another announcement set for Monday at the CTIA in New Orleans, RIM will launch its BlackBerry Connect licensing program, which allows mobile device makers to provide secure access to wireless data on their handsets. Symbian will participate in the programme.

Richard Shim writes for CNET News.com.