Disqus
Symbian Limited today announced new alternative software license pricing models designed to enable handset manufacturers to target lower cost device market segments and drive higher volumes of Symbian OSâ„¢ phones.
With strong growth in unit shipments at over 100 per cent annually for four consecutive years, Symbian is now introducing new scaleable pricing options to its current pricing model. Its objective is to reduce the cost of using Symbian OS and further accelerate the uptake of Symbian OS in high volume segments. The current pricing model is $7.25 per unit for the first two million handsets sold with each major release of Symbian OS and $5 for every handset thereafter. Under the new pricing alternatives, Symbian OS royalties as low as $2.50 per unit are possible. Upon adoption of the new pricing, licensees are not required to pay higher royalties for the first 2 million units of a Symbian OS release, therefore these new pricing alternatives remove the barriers for licensees to migrate to the latest version of Symbian OS.
With the introduction of the new models, Symbian OS customers (handset manufacturers) will have the option to adopt, on an annual basis, one of two additional pricing alternatives that are based on either:
- A fraction of the trade price of devices shipping or
- Scaleable pricing that reduces as the licensee’s total volume of shipments increase within a one year period.
The new pricing options are available to Symbian OS v9 shipments from July 2006 onwards.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
