Symbian FAQs

Symbian FAQs

  • What is the Symbian Foundation?

    The Symbian Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2009. Our mission is to enable a global business ecosystem that collaborates to create the richest and most satisfying mobile user experiences.

    Our organization exists to provide support and technology to a fast-moving, creative and inspired community that is building devices and solutions that make money, based on the Symbian platform. The Symbian Foundation has no development resources; we are here to enable the unlimited future of mobile – the technology contributors, member companies and participating individuals together are creating it.

  • What is the Symbian Foundation’s role in the community?

    The foundation is responsible for driving compatibility across devices, securing the economies of scale for efficient development. This consistency and compatibility enables the entire ecosystem to accelerate innovation and therefore the availability of new services and compelling experiences for consumers and business users around the world.

    The foundation ensures that the Symbian platform preserves and builds on existing investments in Symbian OS and partners’ user interfaces. This secures business model continuity for the existing strong developer base.

    The foundation is also responsible for developer support, providing:

    • SDKs
    • Documentation
    • Sample code
    • Knowledge base
    • Application signing program
    • Symbian Horizon applications publisher and directory
    • Online support forums

    The Symbian Foundation also acts as an unbiased mediator between traditional competitors in the mobile industry, chairing the Board of Directors and the four technology Councils that govern the future of the Symbian platform.

    The Symbian Foundation is also the hub of community activities globally, planning member, developer and volunteer events.

  • Why did the founding members choose an open source model?

    Simply put, more minds create a greater diversity of better technology.

    Freely available standard programming interfaces are a good first step toward developing a wider creative community, but they only encourage innovation at the edges of mobile technology. Freely available source code, which is open to experimentation, encourages innovation at the heart.

    The Symbian platform is already a robust, cohesive, proven high-performance software system, starting down at the metal, via extensive middleware, all the way up to applications and user interfaces. This stable base is the Symbian community’s starting point for further contribution.

  • How is the Symbian Foundation unique?

    Because the Symbian platform is free of charge, down to the source code level, and because the Symbian Foundation is providing an initial set of tools and documentation, it is possible for anyone to create devices, applications, services and research projects based on the platform. Removing the cost of the software platform makes it easier to generate revenue.

    Another key differentiator is that we actively encourage contributions from the wider community. These contributions can be in the form of:

    • Bug reports
    • Bug fixes
    • Feature or component improvements
    • Completely new technologies
    • Documentation
    • Support for developers


    Even suggestions are welcome. Whether you are a developer, a company in another segment of the industry or a consumer, we want to hear from you and we will listen.


    You can submit ideas for new devices, new applications, and even how to improve the Symbian Foundation at ideas.symbian.org.

    If you want to get in touch, please join the conversation, email us, or visit one of our offices.


    Finally, the Symbian Foundation is unique in that we promise that our processes will be transparent, both technically and in terms of governance. We will always be inclusive in the way we work, internally and externally. We will share our plans, giving everyone a chance to comment and help shape our direction.

  • Where is the Symbian Foundation located?

    The Symbian Foundation has global reach. Our headquarters are in London, UK. We have regional operations in Foster City, California; Tokyo, Japan; Beijing, China; Helsinki, Finland and Seoul, South Korea. See our world map.

    Members of the Symbian Foundation community are found around the globe.

  • How will the Symbian Foundation avoid the pitfalls of open source software?

    Open source projects are prone to such dangers as divergent versions and platform fragmentation. The legacy of the Symbian platform, and its long-standing support from the industry, make our community uniquely positioned to avoid these pitfalls. Specifically, we benefit from time-tested experience in:

    • Supporting a diverse community of developers
    • Roadmap design and execution
    • Managing software interfaces, platform compatibility, and rapid integration
    • Dealing simultaneously with disparate powerful customers with divergent interests
    • Mixing agile and modular development with overall architectural integrity
    • Overnight builds, codeline management, and quality gate-keeping

  • What are the benefits of an open source software platform over traditional licensing?

    The immediate benefit is in cost savings. In the near term, the greatest benefits will be realized through accelerated innovation – in technology and business models – and wider industry acceptance.

  • How will the Symbian platform benefit end users?

    The Symbian platform will accelerate the availability of more innovative, reliable and fun applications, products and services, from an increasing number of providers.

    We also encourage end users to suggest ideas for new devices, new applications, and how to improve the Symbian Foundation, at ideas.symbian.org.

    End users can also get help or provide help at our Get Satisfaction site.

    All of this will grow our members’ addressable market and create a strong sense of identification among end users with the Symbian brand.

  • How does the Symbian platform benefit developers?

    Symbian is a proven industry platform that allows developers to reach a large addressable market across multiple device vendors.

    The complete platform, with one UI and application framework, allows for efficient development across a wide, segmented device portfolio with high volumes. Symbian branding ensures compatibility across devices, securing the cost-effectiveness of development.

    Backwards compatibility with earlier S60 releases ensures business model continuity and retains the value of past investment for the strong, existing developer base. It also enables new development with the developer’s existing knowledge base and the ability to continue development already under way.

    The Symbian developer community and Web site (which provides a single point of access to developer support) ensure that developers are well served. A wide offering of tools, SDKs and APIs are available to members and non-members alike. Embracing technologies already used by the developer community allows for efficient use of existing assets and competencies. Developers can also start developing today using the existing tools for Symbian OS and S60, with compatibility guaranteed for the future.

  • Which operators support the Symbian platform?

    Devices based on software available in the Symbian platform are already supported by more than 250 mobile service providers worldwide. To date, the following operators have become members of the Symbian Foundation:

    • AT&T
    • China Mobile
    • France Telecom (Orange)
    • NTT DoCoMo
    • SoftBank
    • Telecom Italia
    • Telefonica
    • Vodafone

  • What is the Symbian platform and who can use it?

    The Symbian platform is open source software that was originally based on Symbian OS, the most widely used open operating system for mobile phones. The OS was integrated with software assets contributed by Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony Ericsson, including the S60 and MOAP(S) user interfaces.

    Since the assets were contributed, there have been two further releases of the platform, Symbian^2 and Symbian^3. Symbian^3 is available to anyone under the Eclipse Public License -- Symbian members and non-members, enthusiasts, Web designers, professional developers, service providers and device manufacturers alike.

    The most exciting aspect of the Symbian platform is that it is evolving and growing as more people and companies participate. Together, we are collaborating to create the best user experiences, through open implementation, which will generate revenue for companies and choice for consumers.

  • Which manufacturers will be shipping devices built on the Symbian platform?

    Any manufacturer can download the source code for the Symbian platform, so we expect the number of manufacturers making Symbian-based devices to grow. To date, the following six device manufacturers have committed to the platform:

    • Fujitsu
    • Huawei
    • Nokia
    • Samsung Electronics
    • Sharp
    • Sony Ericsson