Fujitsu's Symbian phones, running MOAP(S), have been released in the Japanese market on DOCOMO's network. This has 50% marketshare in Japan and 50% of its phones are based on Symbian OS. As such, 1 in 4 phones in Japan run on Symbian, the highest 'smartphone' market penetration anywhere in the world.
"Japan is one of the most advanced mobile markets in the world. Symbian is the platform behind the FOMA MOAP(S) phones on the DOCOMO wireless network in Japan. Fujitsu contributed to the development of MOAP(S), and to date, more than 40 million Symbian-based phones have shipped in the Japanese market. Working with the Symbian Foundation, Fujitsu will address future market requirements and platform advancements that enrich the Symbian mobile user experience."
Fujitsu has the potential to bring an important perspective the the Symbian Foundation's future direction. Fujitsu's recent phones typically take a hybrid approach to user interaction. While they have a numeric keypad and have 5 softkeys (grouped around a directional pad) they are also equipped with touchscreens. This allows the 'best of both worlds' in a hybrid solution (e.g. keys for text entry and one handed use, touchscreen for media consumption and manipulation). Such hybrid solutions are likely to become more prevalent in markets outside Japan in the next few years as the sharp definition between touch and non-touch devices disappears.
Fujitsu joins the existing board members, including operators AT&T, Vodafone and NTT DOCOMO; silicon providers ST Microelectronics NV, Texas Instruments and QuiC (also appointed today); and handset manufacturers Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Nokia on the board of the Symbian Foundation.
F-09A - a recent Fujitsu phone based on the Symbian OS.
From the press release
"We believe Fujitsu will continue to bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Symbian Foundation drawing on the successes of the innovative firsts Fujitsu has offered on Symbian" said Lee Williams, Executive Director, Symbian Foundation.
"Fujitsu is pleased to join and contribute to the Symbian Foundation as a Board member. With 8 years experience in developing Symbian OS based mobile phones and commercializing cutting-edge mobile phones for NTT DOCOMO, we will further drive activities to develop the foundation and the Symbian platform", said Nobuo Ohtani, President, Mobile Phones Unit, Fujitsu Limited.