NTT DOCOMO, Renesas Electronics, Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic and Sharp have announced an agreement that'll see them working together to develop a new application platform for mobile phones. The new platform, which promises improved processing speeds for high-quality video and 3D graphics, is intended to cut development time and costs for the four Japanese mobile phone manufacturers.
The new platform will be compatible with both the Symbian and Linux operating systems, while Android compatibility hasn't been ruled out. Mobile phones incorporating the new platform are expected to be seen in late 2011 or early 2012.
Semiconductor company Renesas offered the following diagram to explain what the new application platform would involve. The shaded areas indicate the app platform; it says the white parts are subject to integration and verification.