Symbian announced today that it has shipped 100 million smartphones since its formation in 1998.

The benchmark shows an increasing interest in high-end operating handsets, according to Symbian, which develops operating systems primarily for Nokia phones, but also has sold them to Ericsson, Lenovo, Motorola, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Ericsson and others.

"Hitting the 100 million mark with more than 100 different models currently shipping from 10 leading handset vendors is a phenomenal achievement for Symbian and a strong indication that more and more people are embracing the smartphone lifestyle. However, we are still at the beginning of a technology revolution that will profoundly change peoples' lives," said CEO Nigel Clifford.