Sendo, the UK's only mobile phone maker, has dropped plans to
partner with Microsoft and has chosen to license Symbian/Nokia
technology for its smart phones.
The company will license Nokia's Series 60 platform, which runs
over the Symbian operating system.
Sendo had planned to launch its Z100 Multimedia Smartphone, based
on Microsoft's Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 software, within the
next few weeks.
The company said legal restrictions prevented it detailing the
reasons for terminating the agreement with Microsoft.
"If we had had any other course of action available to us, we
wouldn't have taken the decision to drop the Z100 Smartphone," a
Sendo representative said.
Eden Zoller, wireless Internet director at analyst group Ovum,
said, "Sendo's dramatic defection to the Nokia Series 60/Symbian
platform is a cruel blow for Microsoft, which had hoped to gain
ground in the mobile market by being the platform of choice for
operator-specified smartphones."
She speculated that Microsoft's licensing conditions could not
accommodate the depth of customisation required by operators.
"If Sendo could not provide devices that met increasingly demanding
operator specifications, then it would be left to differentiate
against more powerful competitors on price alone," said Zoller.
"Microsoft is now ultimately relying on its Asian device partners
to help it prove that it has something of value to give to
operators," she added.