The Register: Nokia on Linux, Symbian and NGage

“Nokia senior VP Niklaus Savander submitted himself to a
Register grilling this morning. Vendors have been making these
interviews increasingly difficult for us at 3GSM by refusing to
make the kind of grandiose statements that have characterized past
mobile phone shows. It’s all very subdued, because as one component
vendor said to us, ‘No one wants another WAP.’

“Probably the most flamboyant and talked-about was Motorola’s
Linux/Java initiative, so we figured we’d start there. Originally
announced last week, Moto said it will base all of its low-end and
mid-range phones on the combination of the open source OS and Java.
What did Nokia think of this?

“‘We’re delighted that Motorola endorses Java,’ said Savander.
‘We agree the value is not the OS but the middleware. The OS is not
the swing factor – it’s an important enabler and our own R&D
has very strong opinions.

“‘Their decision to base the OS on Linux is an engineering
decision. They believe they can produce better phones faster and
cheaper,’ he said. ‘Well, let’s line them up and see who’s
better…'”

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