World Economic Forum award winner Symbian to provide exclusive technology insights at US Developer Conference

Leading voices from the Wireless Industry such as ARM, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, Psion, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and Sybase join Symbian on Feb 15-17 in Santa Clara, California

SANTA CLARA, California - February 1st , 2000 - Symbian, the joint venture between Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic and Psion, this week picks up the award of 'Technology Pioneer' from the World Economic Forum, Davos. Symbian, a software licensing company, is powering the heart of the wireless community having formed partnerships with the leading voices in the industry since its formation in 1998.

"We're all about setting a standard and creating a mass market for Wireless Information Devices such as Smartphones and Communicators. Enabling companies like Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic and Psion to bring rapidly to market a wide range of Consumer Electronic devices, we've also focused on developing partnerships with leading companies in the value chain to bring together innovative content and services for these devices," commented Colly Myers, CEO, Symbian.

The award from the World Economic Forum highlights Symbian as one of the world's 'fastest and smartest' technology pioneers.

"At a time of enormous technological change, it is important to bring together companies that are shaping our future. It is key for us to work together in engaging business in the global public interest," commented Professor Klaus Schwab, president and founder of the World Economic Forum. "These companies exemplify a new breed of corporate actors and we want to help strengthen this community and incorporate it into our work."

Since its formation in 1998, Symbian has adopted key standards such as WAP, Java and Bluetooth^® wireless technology for inclusion in the Symbian platform. Symbian has also forged partnerships with leading technology providers, network operators, enterprise software integrators and content and service companies. With its global partnerships encompassing companies like Sun Microsystems, NTT DoCoMo, IBM, Sybase and Oracle, Symbian is fostering rapid innovation and focus on innovative mobile devices that combine mobile computing and wireless telecommunications with access to Internet services.

"There are going to be 1 billion mobile phone users by 2003. With the Symbian platform driving the evolution of Smartphones and Communicators, now is the time to learn about developing applications for these mobile users, building business around the rapidly increasing wireless content and service industry, and finding out about opportunities in this new wireless world," said Colly Myers, CEO, Symbian. "With our focus on C++ and Java development for the Symbian platform, we've already seen registered developers in our Symbian Developer Network program grow from 1,200 to 20,000 in 8 months. At the US Developers' Conference Symbian and its partners will provide a unique, exclusive insight into the heart of the wireless industry."

The Symbian Developer Network provides support for third-party software developers, along with training, discussion groups, workshops, knowledge bases, and free software development kits and tools. At Symbian's first US Developers' Conference registrants will be able to hear from companies including ARM, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, Psion, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and Sybase. An up-to-date agenda detailing the presentations, workshops, and training sessions can be found at the  Symbian Developer Network  

Notes to Editors

Symbian has a limited number of passes available to members of the press and analyst community. For applications please contact Symbian through the contacts listed below.

About Symbian

Symbian owns, licenses, develops and supports leading software, user interfaces, application frameworks and development tools for Wireless Information Devices such as Communicators and Smartphones. Symbian aims to promote standards for the interoperability of Wireless Information Devices with wireless networks, content services, and messaging and enterprise wide solutions.

With headquarters in London, Symbian has offices in Tokyo and Kanazawa, Japan; Ronneby, Sweden; Cambridge, UK and San Francisco Bay Area, USA. Symbian is owned by Ericsson, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia and Psion.
Symbian

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