Nokia to stop using Symbian OS on smartphones?

What Mobile has been following a range of discussions on Symbian and its future, ever since we posted a story in June about the war between Intel and Symbian (Nokia having formed an alliance for next generation smartphones, tablets and netbooks).

This subsequently led to the creation of a thread on our forum, which attracted comments from Symbian Foundation on its future plans.

Even after clarifying a few issues and talking about where Symbian Foundation will hopefully be in the next 12-18 months, the web has been full of people talking about how the Symbian OS - and most notably the Series 60 user interface - has become stale. The most recent incarnation, S60 5th Edition, which introduced touchscreen support and is included in Nokia's 5800, 5530 and N97, has been heavily criticised for its inconsistent UI (some screens requiring a single tap, others double as very simple example), sluggish performance and the use of old resistive touchscreen technology.

Samsung has also entered the market with the Samsung I8910 HD (aka Omnia HD), using a capactive screen, faster processor and more memory - but still suffers from a lack of applications, many of which are only able to run on a Nokia produced handset. Good for Nokia, bad for Symbian as a whole.

telecompaper.com story - August 11th 2009

If the story from TelecomPaper.com is true, this could be a major blow to Symbian - or is it?

Symbian Foundation is working on an all-new operating system, promising a totally new look, designed from the ground up. If true, existing applications for Series 60 are unlikely to work anyway - so if Nokia decides to stop using Series 60 and switch to another OS, it wouldn’t necessarily affect Symbian anyway - besides denting consumer confidence.

Many Series 60 users aren’t aware of Symbian anyway. In fact, most Series 60 users are using it because that what Nokia put on their phone. Nokia calls its non-smartphone user interface Series 40, but that has no link to Symbian whatsoever.

In other words, this won’t necessarily be a bad move if it is true (and if it isn't, then perhaps Nokia should actually consider it). What it does mean is that the Symbian Foundation will need to seriously consider whether it can keep consumers waiting another year or more, when Apple’s iPhone OS and Android will be firmly established, Palm’s webOS will be taking off in Europe and Microsoft will be pushing its new Windows Phone OS to business customers who don’t seem put off by its ageing look.

Windows 7 for mobile will probably be added to the mix by the time Symbian Foundation unveils it’s wonderful new UI. Will it be too late by then? Almost certainly.

In my opinion, Symbian isn't dead - it's resting, but it can't sleep forever...

For now, you can make up your own mind by following one of the many discussions and adding your own thoughts.

What Mobile Forum

• A general discussion on Nokia losing its way with smartphones
• The USA doesn't care about Nokia or Symbian
• The original discussion about Intel vs Symbian, with comment from Symbian Foundation

My-symbian.com

• Long term Symbian users talk about the future of the operating system

Other links

• The German FT story (in German!)