Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo announced a joint venture with device manufacturers Fujitsu, Panasonic, NEC and Sharp along with chipmaker Renesas Electronics to create a new mobile application development platform compatible with the Symbian and Linux operating systems. Concrete details are presently scarce--the firms said the effort will relieve Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic and Sharp from developing application processing functions of their own, freeing them to focus their time and money on creating manufacturer-specific handset features. The companies add they will draw on their respective experiences with Symbian and Linux as work on the platform progresses.
The unnamed platform promises improved processing speeds for mobile video services alongside enhanced 3D graphics processing--commercial devices running the platform are expected in 2012. The partners said they will make the platform available to rival handset makers worldwide--in addition, they're pondering compatibility with other open operating systems, including Google's Android.
NTT DoCoMo is Japan's largest mobile carrier, serving more than 54 million subscribers. More than 48 million use its i-mode mobile web/email service.
For more on the new mobile app platform:
- read this release
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