As the race heats up to control the mind of portable computers, Europe's bright hope Symbian has seen U.S. rivals eating away its promising early lead. It faces formidable foes -- mighty Microsoft, whose Windows operating system already runs most personal computers, and popular Palm, which sells the most palmtop devices. They all want their operating system to be the brain of the mobile organizer, a market that is finally taking off, especially as Internet on the move becomes a reality. All have strengths and weaknesses, and analysts think each is tough enough to survive but none to dominate totally. But they say Symbian -- a consortium set up by British handheld computer company Psion with mobile phone partners such as Nokia and Ericsson -- must get its act together to ensure it stays a major force.
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