Today Nokia has announced that they have acquired the remaining of Symbian and, most importantly, that it is going to put the code in open source.
A few years ago, when I was saying "Mobile Open Source" the best answer I was getting was: "What?". Followed by a "Are you crazy? You cannot put Open Source together with Mobile! Mobile is the most closed environment on the planet!!".
Well, let me smile for a second... Symbian is going open source. Android is open source. Mobile Linux is growing everywhere (and it is open source...). Nokia has bought Trolltech and now they are pushing forward with a clear open source strategy.
The two companies left behind are Microsoft and Apple. Ok, they are big, but not in mobile (yet, it is a long long road). And they might never get big in mobile if they do not go open source as well. The direction is clear. If you are HTC and you are offering Android (and soon Symbian), what are you going to tell Microsoft about the cost of Windows Mobile? You know the answer...
Now people will start realizing that the next step in mobile open source is the application layer. I am sitting on top of the pile with Funambol and I cannot hold back a smile :-)
What a day for mobile open source!
