Nokia, still the largest mobile phone manufacturer by volume, is moving away from its own Symbian Operating System which will be transferred to Accenture to maintain it. This will enable it to concentrate on its partnership with Microsoft and the Windows Phone 7 OS which will be included with its new SmartPhones at some point in the future.

Symbian is not considered by many as a competitor for Android, iOS and BlackBerry OS which has led Nokia to ally itself with Microsoft in a bid to regain some of its lost market share. Whether these two giants combined might can make a dent in their competitors is yet to be seen and doubts about their ability to compete has led to Nokia's market valuation sliding in recent months.

Whilst the mobile news is generally dominated by Android and iOS and their seemingly unstoppable rise, Symbian remains the largest OS worldwide and is used by other manufacturers as well as Nokia. We haven't seen the end of it quite yet.

Lower-end phones will still be running it for some time to come and, for many users, it will serve them well, providing the functions they need. For more advanced users there is a wide choice of SmartPhone handsets, available free of charge on a range of tariffs running a number of different operating systems.

Whilst consumers may shun Windows Phone 7 in favour of Android there will be many business users who will find the full integration with their current Microsoft-powered IT infrastructure attractive. Ally this to Nokia's solid and reliable handsets and it COULD be a winning combination for some businesses.

At Business Mobile World we can advise you regarding the latest SmartPhones and operating systems and how they could help your business perform better.