Members include Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, Motorola, Sony, Nissan, Panasonic, IBM, Philips, Hewlett-Packard and Orange SA.
However, Palm Computing is not involved. Palm controls the operating system used in approximately half of the world’s personal digital assistants (PDAs). Its absence presents a significant challenge to the success of the Alliance.
The Alliance will be working on applications such as browsing, messaging, content download and synchronisation, ensuring interoperability and availability of open and standard-based products and solutions for the mobile market.
Pertti Korhonen, senior vice president of mobile software at Nokia said at the launch:
"The significance of today's announcement can be compared to the day of the first release of the GSM specification, which gained unforeseen operator support and paved the way to the biggest commercial success story of the mobile industry in the 1990s.”
He continued, “This global approach will fuel innovation and make the mobile platform attractive for creating both services and content."