Global handset manufacturing giant Nokia has purchased the shares they didn't already own in Symbian, Ltd., the company formed in 1998 as a partnership among Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and Psion and the developer of the Symbian mobile operating system, by far the world's leading OS for "smart mobile" phones with 67% of the market, followed by Microsoft on 13%, with RIM on 10% (source).

But wait, there's more (per Engadget)!

Here's where it gets interesting, though: rather than taking Symbian's intellectual private for Nokia's own benefit, the goods will be turned over to the Symbian Foundation, a nonprofit whose sole goal will be the advancement of the Symbian platform in its many flavors. Motorola and Sony Ericsson have signed up to contribute UIQ assets, while NTT DoCoMo (which uses Symbian-based wares in a number of its phones) will be donating code as well.

Other Symbian Foundation members include Texas Instruments, Vodafone, Samsung, LG, and AT&T (yep, the same AT&T that currently sells precisely one Symbian-based phone), so things could get interesting. The move clearly seems to be a preemptive strike against Google's Open Handset Alliance, LiMo, and other collaborative efforts forming around the globe with the goal of standardizing smartphone operating systems; the writing was on the wall, and Symbian didn't want to miss the train. Total cash outlay for the move will run Nokia roughly €264 million -- about $410 million in yankee currency.

The fact that we will soon see three open source platforms (counting Google's Android and LiMo) competing for market share provides yet another measure of the exceptionally high degree of competition in the wireless industry.

Daylight savings time begins early this year, setting off a mini-tech panic as IT-administrators across corporate America sweat out whether patches and other fixes will accomodate the new time fiat. Based on research on electricity use from the 1970's, Congress expects the time-shift to save an equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil per day. Assuming counter-factually that electricity use patterns are the same as they were in the 1970's, that amounts to a $6,000,000 per day energy savings based on a $60/barrel oil price. Times three weeks, that means there are expected savings of $126,000,000.

I wonder what the costs are to the IT industry, corporate networks and individuals in adapting to the new time? Given the direct costs, opportunity costs and the like, not to mention the costs of IT-failures based on the new rule, I would not be surprised if they offset the purported savings.

To make it worse, here is a paper from the California Energy Commission that questions whether there will be any meaningful energy savings, especially since the time-move occurs in March and November when peak electricity demand almost never occurs. If this is correct, then the cost benefit becomes even more dubious.

With the CES in full-swing in Las Vegas and the "gee whiz, isn't this stuff cool" stories, the question all these would-be digital age titans are chasing is: what do consumers want?

As a professional consumer and non-technoid gadget freak, I'll tell you what I want: seamlessly integrated, intuitive, plug-and-play platforms. That's why I am writing this blog on a powerbook, enjoy the iPod, despite the price premiums for both. Apple accomplishes this consumer-friendliness and commands its premiums by pursuing a heretical strategy to openness devotees: its platforms are relatively closed and rather tightly integrated. That way it gets to ensure interoperability and seamlessness in its products. It also compels competition against its entire platform -- vertically and horizontally.

Mike Musgrove has a column in the WashPost on "walk throughs" or highly detailed directions to guide video game players through every puzzle, trap and situation of their favorite video games. It may be a clip-n-save for anyone expects to need a little help next week with the latest additions to the household video game collection.

While the column is ostensibly about the guides - many of which run hundreds of pages and are available for free on the Internet - there are some subtle points made about the economics of information goods.

Taking the Google thread in a new direction, check out this CNN article. Competition has quickly found the corner of the Internet devoted to online maps. Mapquest and Yahoo are prominent examples, but there are dozens of options and early this year Google jumped into the fray. What is new? Well the ever-industrious denizens of cyberspace (long time since you saw that word) have figured out that the Google map tools are easier to hack and subsequently marry to other databases. The result is homegrown locational tools to guide people in tight housing markets or away from urban crime patterns. Read the story for more details and pay attention to the following passage:

All these sites are operating without Google's permission, clearly violating the company's user agreement. But none charges any fees, and Mountain View-based Google, which declined to comment through a spokesman, has made no effort to shut them down.

"Why would they?" asks Kenneth Tan, who works for a Chicago-based media research firm and is relying on Housingmaps.com to find a new place in New York. "This is fantastic publicity for the company."

It generates more than publicity for the company, it is also a growth strategy. Not so long ago Microsoft utilized a similar strategy for independent software writers and its operating system. The result was impressive market share and a host of public policy headaches. Maybe Adam is on to something; my bet is that before "Old Media" is released from regulatory shackles "New Media" like Google will come under withering pressure to acquiesce to their own undoing.

For those who weren't able to attend our Digital Europe events in Milan and Brussels, we've posted some photos from our conferences online.

A new study out from scholars at the University of Maryland business school suggest that Internet users lose more than $21 billion a year to spam and the time it takes to delete the unwanted commercial solicitations.

AP has the story. What boggles me is not the big number -- which is simply a signal for better filtering software -- but that of the 1000 adults surveyed, 14 percent read the solicitations to see what they say. The Vikings would be proud.

Cynthia Webb reports how EA Sports has entered into an exclusive licensing arrangement with ESPN for use of its logo and personalities. This comes on the heels of EA's exclusive video game deal with the NFL.

I await the calls for compulsory licensing of popular sports leagues and TV personalities....

Xbox Live already provides a nice VoIP option for access avoidance. Just imagine the possibilities in reading this passage from a CNET interview with Bill Gates:

Xbox Live is really talking to your friends, doing things with your friends. And as we bring in new game titles that are more approachable, appeal to different demographics, the boundary between what's game playing, what's socialization and what's communication-you will have really broken down the barriers there.

We can make these hot, super great graphics games something that are easy for people to use. That's a big initiative we have as we move to the next generation of Xbox. Likewise, the connection between the Xbox Live and our Messenger will be really simple so people can say, "Hey, come and play," "Oh, okay, I'm finishing my homework, I'm almost done, I'll get on and play with you." And so even as they're connected up to each other, they don't think of, "Oh no, now I'm gaming, now I'm communicating."