Symbian joins Bluetooth wireless alliance

Two high-tech consortia have agreed to pool their resources to develop wireless mobile devices such as smartphones, notebooks, palmtops and watches.

Symbian - the Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Psion operating system (OS) joint venture - has teamed up with the Bluetooth alliance to base the first mobile devices on Psion's Epoc32 operating system, which has already been licensed and developed by Symbian members for next generation smartphones.

In addition to founder members Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba, over a dozen major vendors are backing the Bluetooth initiative.

Justine Hayes, principal analyst at Yankee Group Europe, said: "This is not surprising given several companies' involvement in both groups, but it is significant because it shows a move to a standardised market for smartphones and mobile data equipment."

Elaine Axby, senior consultant at telecoms consultancy, Schema, said: "Anything that helps bring a standardised approach in this market is a good thing."

A spokesman for Ericsson declined to comment on whether other popular mobile operating systems - notably Microsoft Windows CE and 3Com's Palm OS - will also soon be endorsed by the Bluetooth alliance. However, he said: "It's quite natural for Symbian to want to jump onto the Bluetooth bandwagon."

A Psion spokesman, commenting on the latest inroads made by the Epoc OS in contrast with Microsoft's conspicuous absence from the groupings, was more forthcoming. "It's not about one company dominating anymore," he said.