Motorola to sell off its Symbian stake

Motorola is planning to sell its 19 percent ownership stake in Symbian, the leading developer of operating systems for smart phones that use next-generation cellular networks.

The No. 2 global handset maker said Friday it is selling the stake to fellow Symbian investors Nokia and Psion, in a move that should give Motorola more freedom to work with developers of other operating systems. It will also give Java developers a choice of platforms when they write applications for features such as ring tones and advanced messaging, according to Motorola.

CNET News.com - Motorola to sell off its Symbian stake