Lenovo and Symbian Limited this week announced that Symbian and Lenovo Digital Mobile Business, Lenovo's mobile telephony division, have signed an agreement to enable Lenovo to use Symbian OS for development of mobile phones for Chinese and worldwide 2.5G and 3G network operator customers.

Lenovo's Symbian OS-based mobile phones will use the Series 60 platform licensed from Nokia. Series 60 is a user interface platform for media-rich mobile phones based on Symbian OS. Lenovo will be the first Chinese manufacturer to deliver Symbian OS-based phones to its domestic and international markets.

Lenovo, formerly known as the Legend Group, manufactures mobile handsets for customers worldwide . Using the advanced, open technology of Symbian OS, Lenovo will develop and bring to market innovative and highly differentiated smartphones for customers worldwide. In 2003, more than 6 . 67 million mobile phones based on Symbian OS were shipped worldwide.