The Change Mariner

Nokia Boosts Stake In Smart Cell Phone OS

Mercury News:

Nokia will become majority owner of Symbian as Psion becomes the second co-founder to cash out of the mobile device software consortium only months after boosting its investment by acquiring part of Motorola's stake. The purchase of Psion's 31 percent stake in Symbian, an operating system for "smart" cell phones and handheld devices, will nearly double Nokia's interest to 63.3 percent.

The divestitures by Motorola in summer 2003 and now Psion come as industry players position themselves for an expected explosion of demand for cell phones that double as personal organizers, wireless Internet connections, video and music players, digital cameras and game consoles.