Is Symbian Dying? Vendors Abandon Platform

[faizone 15]

Source

Nokia will soon be the only manufacturer using the Symbian mobile operating system, as Samsung is the latest to announce it will stop making phones that run Symbian. The news comes shortly after Sony Ericsson said it will also stop making Symbian devices, in what could be a fatal blow for the OS.

In a note to its Symbian developers, Samsung said late on Thursday that it will discontinue its support for the platform from December 31 2010, and will also remove all content available to developers on the platform from its site. Certification of Symbian applications for the Samsung Apps store will cease on the same date.

Only last week, Sony Ericsson announced will no longer develop any new products for the Symbian OS, which still has the highest smartphone market share worldwide, mainly because it powers lower-end smartphones in Asia and other parts of the world. The only phone manufacturer on the Symbian Foundation members list still making Symbian phones is Nokia.

Not for the Long Haul

Samsung and Sony Ericsson are already developing smartphones using Google's Android OS, which some analysts predict will overtake Symbian in market share by 2014. Samsung has already seen success with the Android-powered Galaxy S smartphone line in the US and worldwide, and also built a tablet using the OS. Sony Ericsson is also reportedly working on an Android-powered gaming smartphone.

However, Nokia thinks that defecting to Android is not a wise step for manufacturers. And an outgoing VP of the company reportedly said that phone makers who embrace Android are like Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter. In other words, Android would bring manufacturers short-term success, but it might not be the best idea in the long run.

Commenting on the Samsung and Sony Ericsson break-up with Symbian, a Nokia spokesperson told PC World that "these announcements have no impact on our commitment to Symbian. We started shipping our first S^3 device, the Nokia N8 yesterday and we expect to sell 50 million S^3 devices."

What's Next for Nokia?

Nokia is said to have considered moving Android, but the company persistently denies the claim. Back in 2008, Nokia bought the other half of Symbian for a reported $410 million, and made the OS open source in February this year. After such an investment, it's understandable why Nokia won't quit Symbian easily.

The Finnish phone maker then tried to revamp the aging Symbian OS along with the launch of the flagship N8 smartphone, which got high marks for its hardware. The software, however, was deemed disappointing by most reviewers, including PC World's own Ginny Mies. The N8 just started shipping this week, so handset's consumer reception is pending.

Nokia now has a new CEO, Stephen Elop, who has reportedly pursued a deal to produce phones using the upcoming Microsoft Windows 7 Phone OS. Nokia also plans to introduce next year high-end devices running on MeeGo, a joint venture between Nokia and Intel, merging the Maemo and Moblin Oss.

[Genius 817]

Nokia gone for toss again.... Instead of developing os why don't they adapt what's going on. As it is sambian is getting odd these days even Chinese crap doesn't have it.

[inception 75]

That's true. Symbian is going to an end, Nokia also moving to Meego.

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

However, Nokia thinks that defecting to Android is not a wise step for manufacturers. And an outgoing VP of the company reportedly said that phone makers who embrace Android are like Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter. In other words, Android would bring manufacturers short-term success, but it might not be the best idea in the long run

,,

No need to say same thing again again to Nokia, let them learn the hard way !

[sgiitk 32]

There may be some logic in striving for an alternative to Android. A single platform stifles innovation amongst other things. However, I see nothing on the horizon. iPhone and BB OSes are proprietary and highly unlikely to be out licensed. All others look like being destined to the scrap heap of history.

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

In my opinion , Nokia should stay with Symbian / Meego , but also make 1 or 2 good models with Android , say as testing.

sell both at same time, which ever sales is high keep manufacturing .

it just like making windows OS phone and Android OS phones by same company.

Same thing samsung is following. they have their own BADA Os, still they are following market by using Android.

like we say wash your hand in running water ( बहेते हुवे पानी मैं हात धो लो )

[nevillepoonawala 0]

Anroid has 2 lac applications, WM 6.5/7 has so many tweaks and utilities to play with. Wm is so exciting to deal with. Nokia after buying Symbian has not made any new leap in s60v3/v5. Just the same settings. Just the same interface. Yes but we can add themes.Nokia and Samsung Bada os will be good competition.

[Karthik R 246]

Nokia is no longer a choice while looking for a new handset

[Honest 836]

Samsung Withdraws from Symbian

Back in October, Samsung had announced their plans of dropping any kind of support for the Symbian OS and it looks like the time has finally arrived. The Samsung Lab for developers had closed back in October and the Symbian forum with any content that’s related to the Symbian OS will be trashed today, according to IntoMobile.

Samsung is officially not going to use the platform that many of the Indian mobile users are so familiar with. This gives an interesting perspective as to what Nokia will actually do with the Symbian OS. If they still have faith in the Indian market, chances are they might just not give up on it. After all, Nokia certainly did rule the market a few years back. Agreed that it’s not the same now, but you cannot rule out their chances of making a comeback with feature-packed phones that are also priced well. Most importantly, these phones should have something new to offer in terms of the operating system.

What Nokia does in the future is still to be seen. They can switch to MeeGo, Maemo or upgrade the Symbian OS with some new and better functionality. All this will be unveiled next year so it promises to be an interesting one! Happy New Year to one and all!

Courtesy : Tech2

[Honest 836]

<< Topic Title Updated >>

[santhoshavanoor 7]

Yes, I have also received email from Samsung. I think now symbian have no future as its platform is not fully user friendly.

[Honest 836]

Here comes the end of Symbian Era.

[raccoon 53]

Hopefully, they will mend their ways and upgrade the OS as is mentioned in the article. I'm far from being a Nokia fan (esp. after my experience with them), but I'd hate to see the OS scenario dominated by just one or two OSes.

But its obvious they are doing/learning too little too late... Only time will tell.

Edited January 1, 2011 by raccoon

[Greens 21]

Why not OS independent handsets???

[Notam 43]

Why not OS independent handsets???

Yes it should be OS independent like in computers. We should have the liberty to choosing the OS

[raccoon 53]

That would be by far the best thing. I believe that is what the future will bring.

[dkaile 1,051]

Nokia connecting Android or Windows Phone 7

Helsinki, Jan 29: World's largest mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is planning to take a revolutionary step after its disappointing Q4 2010 financial results. Media reported that Nokia has plans to adopt another popular operating system to make its handsets more attractive and acceptable.

Edited January 29, 2011 by dkaile

[Greatest 55]

^^^ Ab akkal aayi saalon ko..

[Karthik R 246]

Nokia is always late to respond to the market. They were holding out when local vendors swept the dual sim market and finally pulled themselves up to release C1-00 and C2-200 which is not much sucessfull.

But Android will surely turn its fortune.

[KanagaDeepan 1,084]

I don't think so Karthik bhai... Still now the REAL-DUALSIM-DUAL-ACTIVE phone C2 was NOT introduced to market...

Further those lazybones are known for taking so much time and testing everybody's patience on launching new phones, that TOO 150% BUGGY... E7 was once again delayed and on arrival surely will be buggy.. NOKIA has done MORE HARM to symbian than helping them, imho...

They have done so many things wrong like,

01) removing touch support in Series80 at first,

02) then d!tching Series80,

03) killing Series 90 on arrival,

04) throwing away Maemo for Meego,

05) delaying MeeGo way toooo much,

06) pathetically using s60 in commie form in E90,

07) then ditching commie development,

08) Using s60 in touch via s60v5 without much changes from s60v3,

09) bringing s60v5 way too slow and buggy,

10) delayed s^3,

11) launching FLAGSHIPS WITH HARDWARE LIMITATIONS as below:-

-----a. 9210 has NO GPRS

-----b. 9500 has NO 3G

-----c. N97 has ridiculously small phone memory + VERY VERY LOW RAM + slow processor

-----d. SMALL battery in N95, N96

-----e. DualLED flash in N86,

-----f. Non-user-removable battery in N8,

-----g. 640x360 resolution in E7's 4" screen,

-----h. Non-AF cameras in E7 {an E-series WITHOUT BarCode+BizCard scanner} & C7, etc...,

12) BUGGY LAUNCHING firmware<<In N97, 5800, X6, etc..>>,

13) ditching CDMA,

14) himalaya delaying in DualSIM launch,

15) ditching US market,

16) anti-qualcomm,

17) failed OVI MUSIC,

18) failed N-GAGE,

19) failed OVI-File sharing,

20) other OVI failures,

21) Only ONE SUPER flagship every TWO YEARS <<Eg:- N97, N95>>, etc...

22) Not so fast in updating firmware and stop such support to devices that don't sell well.. Eg: N96

23) If an all-in-one cheaper phone sells soo good to affect other devices, they will stop selling it.. Eg:-6220c, 3120c, 6021, etc...

24) PATHETICALLY using a good browser in s60, even in s^3--N8 <<NO NEW TAB button, slow JavaScript, FlashLite and NOT Flash, to name a few>>

25) Still using ANCIENT QVGA screen in good handsets like E72, E5, etc...

Further with the current attitude of NOKIA, even Android may NOT help them much... Because :-

1) Cos like Samsung, Moto, HTC, even SE launches many Android devices a year... But NOKIA launches NO MORE THAN ONE super device a year..

2) All Android devices from competitors comes with cutting edge tech, NOKIA rarely comes with them Eg: N97,even N8 has just 256MB RAM and slow processor..

3) Android devices sells in huge quantities in US, but once NOKIA ignored US market and NOW US market is ignoring NOKIA...

4) Time to bring to market is WAY TOO MUCH in Nokia's case... NOKIA will announce one Android device with cutting edge tech, they will bring it after 6 months and at that time, those will be obsolete...

NOKIA may launch Android devices with too many faults (as told above) and will definitely FAIL and WILL BLAME ANDROID once again... Android has saved too many almost wrecked-ships like SE, Moto... But with current attitude of NOKIA, even ANDROID is NOT ENOUGH for them, in my humble opinion...

Edited January 29, 2011 by KanagaDeepan

[raccoon 53]

Definitely its not just the OS. Nokia has to set a LOT of other things right, else it will die slowly.

[digitalnirvana 646]

Nokia finalises Symbian outsourcing deal with Accenture; concentrates on WP7

Source.

Nokia and Accenture have finalised a five-year deal under which Nokia will outsource its Symbian software development and support activities to Accenture. Nokia is likely to transfer nearly 2,800 employees in China, India, UK, US and Finland to Accenture, scheduled to take place in early October, this year.

"Our collaboration with Accenture allows us to meet our ongoing commitment to support our Symbian smartphone customers and continue to leverage the talent that has the deepest experience on the platform," says Nokia executive VP Jo Harlow in a press release. "As we move our primary smartphone platform to Windows Phone, we will look to explore potential opportunities to tap this talent pool as they develop and expand their knowledge and capabilities beyond Symbian."

As per the agreement, Accenture will extend support and work on development of Nokia's Symbian platform. The release further says that the technology consulting and outsourcing company will also provide mobility software, business and operational services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia and other ecosystem participants.

It may be recalled that Nokia had disclosed the plans of an outsourcing agreement with Accenture in April this year. The news came hours after the announcement of Nokia's N9, its first MeeGo-based smartphone. With the escalating popularity of Android operating systems, Nokia's Symbian is noticeably lagging behind in the smartphone race. The Finnish company has been compelled to look for other options, i.e., WP7, to optimise its market presence.

Nokia now has great hopes for its upcoming Windows Phone smartphones, as it and Microsoft aim to achieve the same kind of attention that the operating systems of Apple and Google are enjoying presently. Nokia's MeeGo-based N9, meanwhile, seems to be a device that fills the vacant space while Nokia switches to Windows Phone 7, however, market adoption of the platform may just rekindle Nokia's interest in it.

[deepv84 2]

i think now just indian people buy nokia ,every one from other country are already shifted to samsung , dell , LG,motorola etc

india always go with name like splendor (honda), maruti ,nokia etc .

[coolblue 10]

i think now just indian people buy nokia ,every one from other country are already shifted to samsung , dell , LG,motorola etc

india always go with name like splendor (honda), maruti ,nokia etc .

Nokia's market share is declining. For past one year nokia has lost around 15% market share. India's Nokia hangover is vanishing. Samsung is the new leader. This is the reason nokia is gradually shifting to windows phone.