Symbian not threatened by the iPhone

CEO of Symbian, Nigel Clifford, has said that he sees no real competitive threat from Apple's iPhone - in fact he welcomes their entry into the mobile market, particularly in the US.

In a press conference at 3GSM, Clifford also said that Symbian are looking to bringing advanced phone capabilities to midrange mobile phones.

“People think of smartphones as something big, ugly, and expensive. It’s time to lay to rest that myth,” he said.

He also noted four factors that have come together over the past six months that should lead to a boost in the market, including falling prices, more broadly available mobile services, greater penetration of mobile broadband, and improved devices.

Symbian are obviously highly optimistic about the future, and with a 73% stake of the global mobile operating system market, compared with Microsoft's 4.5%, and Apple's currently non-existent share, it's hardly surprising.