Symbian has announced version 9.3 of its operating system for smartphones, improving performance in key areas and adding native support for Wi-Fi, which will make it easier to add new IP-based functions to future handsets.

Jorgen Behrens, vice president of product management at Symbian, said the update is optimised for the latest generation of ARM11 processors. Handsets based on the new code will start up faster, and key applications such as personal information manager (PIM) and contact synchronisation have also been optimised. New features in Symbian OS 9.3 include support for Wi-Fi and USB On-The-Go.

"Wi-Fi was possible before, but the handset maker had to modify the code themselves," Behrens said. Native support in the operating system will enable voice over IP (VoIP) and make it easer to add new functions to the IP stack.

USB On-The-Go enables users to plug USB peripherals such as Flash drives into their handset. It could also enable two phones to link together, allowing users to easily transfer their settings to a new handset, according to Behrens.

The first handsets running Symbian OS 9.3 are due in 2007.