KDDI ties in partners for new phone OS

Well now, it looks as if Linux on the mobile front could very well be in for some real competition.

Qualcomm, Toshiba, Sanyo and Japanese cellco KDDI, are planning to work on a new operating system for handsets, rivaling the Symbian OS, Linux and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.

The aim is supposed to be to cut the cost of designing new handsets, although initially at least, it is likely to increase costs, and what this seems to be really about is gaining control over handset designs by one of the major Japanese operators.

It throws a new light on the break up of the deal between Sanyo and Nokia earlier this month, to work on CDMA handsets, which resulted in Nokia pulling out of the CDMA market altogether, saying it was too small an opportunity. Perhaps Sanyo was tempted instead by the opportunity to capture the great bulk of future KDDI handset business…. Source: The Register

[tags]phone,toshiba,os,sanyo,japanese,qualcomm,kddi,partners[/tags]