Symbian was one of the first smart operating system for mobile phones, before iOS, Android and Windows Phone became household names. It powered the first mass smartphones from Nokia, helping the company take charge as a dominant force on the market.
But like most things in life, there comes a time to say goodbye.
It seems that for the Symbian operating system, this time is now. Nokia is planning to completely stop shipping smartphones powered by this platform by the summer.
The signs have been there for all to see — with the Lumia devices continuing their upsurge coupled with the massively declining sales of Symbian based handsets. Financial Times believes that Nokia will not make a formal announcement regarding the end of shipments.
The reason being that there are still Symbian smartphones in stock around the world, and Nokia partners will need to sell them one way or another.
Nevertheless, moving forward, the Finnish telecommunication giant will completely rely on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 platform. Lumia Q1 volume saw an increase of 27 percent quarter-on-quarter ending up at 5.6 million devices — a sure enough sign of increasing momentum.
And at the same time, sales of Symbian based smartphones plummeted to 500 thousand a quarter, reflecting that the platform is nearing its demise.
The upcoming release of Windows Phone Blue, set for later this year or early next, will open up the possibilities for the telecom giant to target all market segments with its Lumia devices.
Microsoft and Nokia, both, have recently outlined a strategy to increase focus on affordable smartphones, particularly in developing countries around the globe, in order to increase overall market share of the Windows Phone mobile platform.
