This is pretty big news. It means that the software that runs on your mobile phone is going to be increasingly open and shared amongst the major handset manufacturers. This is already the case for Linux with initiatives such as the LiMo Foundation. Google’s Android is another competitor but it remains to be seen whether it is a truly open platform.
For mobile subscribers this ultimately means cheaper handsets that will increasingly resemble small PC’s. The rollout of ‘smartphones’ to a much wider audience will be assisted by this move.
It also means that Microsoft is going to have to paddle very fast to keep up…
