Symbian’s reduced role will help Nokia to focus
StumbleUponThe Symbian Foundation’s announced not-for-profit status and Symbian OS’s re-absorption into Nokia marks an end to the circuitous journey that the smartphone software platform has taken since its inception from pioneer and market maker to near anonymity. By Tony Cripps.
By Tony Cripps
What is already clear is that Symbian OS itself will now retire into the background with the Qt application and user experience platform now forming the focus of Nokia’s developer marketing, offering cross-platform compatibility with Nokia’s newer smart device OS, MeeGo. Only the final winding up of the foundation remains to be completed, something we predict may not take too long.
It’s odd to see Symbian OS, the clear bellwether of the early smartphone market and still the overall market leader in terms of volume shipments, essentially reduced to the role of a traditional handset operating system, much like its unsung stablemate, Series 40.
However, Symbian’s subjugation is probably a good thing, not only for developers but also for Nokia itself, which can now move on without shouldering the burden of fragmentation within the Symbian platform. And whether Nokia liked it or not, as the de facto owner of the platform, the company often ended up on shouldering the frustrations of developers and fellow OEMs.
In this light, Nokia’s burden is now lighter. Indeed, it can now use the opportunity to regain smartphone momentum without the encumbrance of a competing brand by focusing on factors that maximise the synergy between user and developer experience and doing so under its own brand.
That said, a common software platform in the shape of Qt will not be enough if Nokia still has designs on the high-end smartphone market, where Apple, Google (Android), RIM and now Microsoft all currently have more compelling plays.
Service integration on device software platforms is now as key to market success as the on-device experience itself. With Nokia now working closely with Yahoo! to share application infrastructure, this side of the equation is looking up but Nokia needs to be cutting more deals with high profile online brands – in Ovum’s mind the key application and content developers – to really maximise this opportunity.
About the author Tony Cripps is a principal analyst at Ovum.
About Ovum
Ovum provides clients with independent and objective analysis that enables them to make better business and technology decisions. Its research draws upon over 400,000 interviews a year with business and technology, telecoms and sourcing decision-makers. Ovum is part of the Datamonitor group.
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