Symbian reports a slowdown

Mobile phone operating company Symbian says its growth has been affected by a reduction in smartphone demand. Second-quarter shipments were up by only 5%, compared with a 17% increase in the previous quarter and more than 50% annual growth in 2007. Quarterly turnover fell 14%. 19.6 million handsets with the Symbian OS were shipped worldwide in Q2 2008, bringing the theoretical total number of Symbian handsets to 225.9 million. The company is currently in the process of being taken over by Nokia. [Sources: Press release; Guardian.co.uk]