Siemens deals again for 3G

By Susan Rush
from CED Broadband Direct, May 17, 2002

When it comes to the success of 3G, interoperability may be the name of the game. Rivals Siemens and Nokia are teaming to ensure that the companies' future smart phones can seemlessly communicate with one another.

Siemens will license Nokia's Series 60 software platform and implement the software in Symbian OS-based smart phones. The deal negates the need for Siemens to develop a user interface and applications of its own. The licensing deal with Siemens is the first of its kind for Nokia.

Nokia and Siemens have stakes in Symbian, a London-based consortium. Microsoft is Symbian's largest competitor.

Last month, Siemens inked a partnership with rival Motorola Inc. Under the terms of the deal, Motorola will supply a combination of chips and software tools, dubbed the i.300 Innovative Convergence 3G platform. The chips will be delivered in the fourth quarter, will rollout plans for the handsets set for 2004. Siemens also agreed to resell Motorola 3G phones to its customers, re-branded as a Siemens phone. Motorola's A820 device delivers high-speed voice, data and video capabilities.