Nokia plans to buy out its fellow shareholders in Symbian, the UK-based handset software firm, and throw the mobile phone operating system open for royalty-free use.

The move is an attempt by Nokia to respond to the growing threat posed by Google, which is working on a cheap competitor platform for mobiles, called Android.

Nokia will spend €264m (£209m) buying the remaining 52pc of Symbian shares it does not own, from the other shareholders which include handset and electronics manufacturers. Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, Panasonic and Siemens have accepted the offer, and Nokia said it also expects Samsung Electronics to accept.

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Source : telegraph