TechJapan reports that Sharp plans to produce mobile phones running the Symbian OS for use on the NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone networks in Japan. This is an important development because Sharp handsets have used the ITRON operating system until now.

Currently Sharp USA markets camcorders, handhelds, portable audio players, and laptops. But, implementing the Symbian OS would pave the way for expansion into the U.S. market. This would support Sharp's long-term goal of increasing international sales of mobile phone handsets to 50 percent of its total output. (Currently Sharp sells 30 percent of its output internationally.)

The addition of Sharp to the group of handset manufacturers supporting the Symbian OS can only help broaden the market for Symbian applications. It's hard for some software developers to justify creating applications for Symbian if they only reliably run on high end handsets from Nokia. [ via PhoneScoop ]