When Google’s Android platform—the technology behind so-called Google Phones—was announced late last fall, I immediately thought about the open-source implications affecting the mobile space overall. As I said in this post, because the technology is open to all developers, Android-powered phones could eventually boast superior software and become the top handsets in the market.

Recent events, however, might be even better for consumers and marketers trying to reach them. Nokia, the world’s top cell phone maker, on Tuesday announced it is buying software-maker Symbian, whose operating system of the same name is on the majority of mobile phones all over the globe (not counting the innumerable flavors of Linux in Asia), and is on two-thirds of smartphones alone.

The kicker? Nokia plans to offer Symbian royalty-free to all handset makers, and will create an organization of phone manufacturers, carriers, and semiconductor companies to create an open-source platform “with wide industry appeal.”

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