Samsung Electronics and Symbian Ltd announced that Samsung, one of the worlds largest mobile phone manufacturers, has signed an agreement to license the Symbian OS for use in its smartphones for 2.5G and 3G networks worldwide.

Samsung's first Symbian OS product is slated to be a global data-enabled phone using the Series 60 user interface which Samsung has licensed from Nokia. According to Symbian, the world's top five mobile phone manufacturers are now Symbian OS licensees.

Samsung said it selected the Symbian OS on the basis of both market and technical merits. Byung Duck Cho, Senior Vice President, Wireless Handsets, Samsung said, "Symbian has demonstrated its ability to deliver leading edge technology, stimulate product innovation and work closely with its licensees to ship industry-leading smartphones. We look forward to delivering open Symbian OS phones to global markets. The flexibility of the technology will allow us to produce innovative products with multi-media capabilities that provide a compelling experience for mobile users."

Symbian is an organization that develops and licenses Symbian OS. Handset manufacturers that license the Symbian OS include Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Sony Ericsson and now Samsung. Samsung Electronics recently renewed its Palm OS license to develop future smartphones with that operating system through 2005.