Carriers around the world have made Symbian their operating system of choice for smartphones. Symbian, which licenses its operating system to smartphone manufacturers Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and others, accounted for 73% of the worldwide market in the third quarter of 2006, according to research firm Canalys.
What makes it so popular? Freedom of choice, says Jerry Panagrossi, the company's VP of U.S. operations. Written in C++, the Symbian OS has a "plug-in" architecture, making it easier for manufacturers to add technology of their own. That supports device differentiation--a key consideration in the smartphone market--and hastens delivery of new and in-demand features.
The Symbian OS--unlike RIM's BlackBerry OS or Apple's Mac OS X--can be licensed by any manufacturer, and its APIs are publicly available. That translates into more options for IT departments. Symbian, for example, works with a variety of wireless push e-mail services, including Intellisync, Visto, and BlackBerry Connect.
Symbian OS version 9, released two years ago, comes with certain features that IT administrators appreciate. The Device Management framework, for example, lets admins access a user's phone remotely to add network services or applications, diagnose a problem, or audit applications on the phone.
That popularity has a downside. Symbian has been a target of malware that crashes phones, installs malicious code, or wirelessly transmits data to other devices. A virus called Commwarrior has infected some Symbian smartphones; once in place, the virus spreads to other phones via Bluetooth.
Some companies feel safer with a less open operating system. "Robust security is what we look for in a mobile OS," says Kevin Bott, senior VP and CIO of Ryder System. The truck rental and transportation company issued 500 BlackBerrys to its salespeople and senior-level staff, choosing the BlackBerry for its security and support features.
Ryder tested Palm Treos but found support unwieldy. It took hours to set up Lotus Notes on a Windows Mobile-based Treo, compared with 15 minutes on a BlackBerry. "There's a learning curve with all these mobile platforms," says Bott. "You want the technology that's easy to use and won't put you over the edge with support calls."
Symbian is bolstering security. In the latest versions, applications need permission to access sensitive phone capabilities, helping IT departments lower the exposure of their corporate data, says Panagrossi.
What Symbian lacks is presence in the United States, where it has only 10% of the market. Cingular is the only U.S. carrier that sells Symbian phones: Nokia's E62 and 9300. Symbian aims to expand in the States this year as carriers complete their 3G rollouts.
Symbian's main challenges: RIM's popularity and Microsoft's Windows integration.
