This is not the first time that the Symbian Foundation has found itself in a position where it is losing its foothold on the market. This is however, the first time that it is likely that the mobile platform developer might not be able to regain its position.
For many years, the smart phone market has been a niche crowd. In the meanwhile, regular handsets have been the device of choice for many. But with the introduction of better wireless networks that enabled faster web browsing on the mobile phone, the smart phone market began to grow, and Symbian’s lack of dominance in the field started to show.
Compared to the Google Android, Apple iOS, the BlackBerry OS and the Palm OS, the Symbian still seemed to lack various factors that made smart phone pass up Nokia handsets for other devices. While the OS certainly did not lack features or support, it seemed that the Nokia Symbian combination was something that people still saw as a vestige of the older generation of smart phones.
It also did not help that several handsets that featured the latest Symbian operating systems also seemed to fare badly in terms of performance. Major devices such as the Nokia N97 were known for being extremely buggy and prone to crashing. The Sony Ericsson Satio’s performance was so unstable that it had to be pulled off shelves until the manufacturer was able to come up with downloadable hotfix.
Still, there is still a ray of hope for the Symbian OS. Later this year, the Nokia N8 smart phone will be coming out and it will be running on the new Symbian^3 operating system. The new OS has been redesigned to reflect the newer UI styles of its competitors –particularly with its focus on live updates and integrated social networking capabilities.
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