Symbian has announced it has opened an office in Beijing, China. The new office will support Symbian's efforts in the Chinese market including links with academia, developer training and localisation activities. China is already an important market and is likely to be a key battleground between software platforms and device manufacturers in the future.

China is often seen as a strong market for Linux because of a Chinese preference for home grown or source code accessible projects. However Symbian is currently the market leader and has recently seen strong growth (126% from Q3 2005 to Q3 2006). Opening an office in China is about creating a local presence for support activities but should also be seen as a strategic move to demonstrate commitment to serving the Chinese market.

Nigel Clifford, chief executive officer of Symbian, said “China is a very important market for Symbian with 10 per cent of Symbian smartphones currently shipping in this market and 12.5 per cent of Symbian applications created in China. As most of our customers have bases in China, we hope that the establishment of our new office will support their growth and the development of the Chinese mobile market in general and also fuel local employment and academic opportunities. We are committed to a long-term investment in China”.