Nokia says door open to Google alliance

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia would not rule out taking part in Google Inc's new mobile software alliance, which is seen rivaling Nokia's own plans, a spokesman for the world's top mobile phone maker said on Tuesday.

"It's not ruled out at all. If we would see this as beneficial we would think about taking part in it," said Kari Tuutti, spokesman for Nokia's multimedia unit.

"We should never close any doors."

Web search leader Google said on Monday it would enter the mobile phone market, saying its planned mobile phone software may boost Web use on handsets but without threatening entrenched players.

Analysts, however, said Google could have the means to disrupt the status quo in the wireless software industry, which is dominated by a handful of large phone makers and regional service providers that often tightly control customer choices.

Google's plans pit it against companies such as handset leader Nokia Oyj, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Blackberry maker Research in Motion.

Nokia owns 48 percent of Symbian, whose operating system is behind almost three-quarters of the world's smartphones.

Google said it would work with some of the world's largest telecoms players, including operator T-Mobile, chipmaker Qualcomm Inc and Motorola, to develop an open software platform named "Android" for mobile devices.

Analysts said the platform could give Google a head start in the burgeoning mobile advertising market, which has been hampered by lack of agreement on standards and handset design.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki)