£209m 'smart' move by Nokia

Mobile phones maker Nokia hopes to shake up the sector with a £209 million deal to take control of software firm Symbian.

Nokia already owned 48% of the firm, which develops operating systems for smart phones. It hopes Symbian can undermine the market share held by Research In Motion, which makes the BlackBerry, and Apple, manufacturer of the iPhone.

The move is also a clear attempt to confront the challenge presented by Google. The internet giant admitted this week that its Android operating system has fallen behind schedule.

Industry analysts believe smart phones, which offer GPS, emails, music players and internet access, will be the next battleground for the sector.

Nokia is the leader in the handset industry, providing four out of every 10 sold.

Nokia persuaded Sony, Ericsson, Panasonic and Siemens to sell their stakes in Symbian so it could complete the deal.