The introduction of two new Symbian handsets comes at a time when Finland-based Nokia Corp. has also aligned itself for a transition to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone 7 software. Nokia announced that the Symbian operating system will come to an end, but the demise appears to be slow in action. According to Tero Ojanpera, services chief at Nokia, the company projects sales of 150 million Symbian phones in coming years before tapering production down to a halt.
The E6, pushed as a business and corporate phone and the X7, a more consumer-designed version for entertainment and gaming with a 4-inch screen, should launch sometime in the second quarter.
The phone duo uses the Symbian Anna update, which is scheduled to kick off through the coming months for the current Symbian product line of Nokia N8, C7, E7 and C6-01 models.
Nokia says the update has several “usability enhancements,” such as new icons, improved text input, faster Web browsing, and an upgraded Ovi Maps app providing improved search capabilities and new public transport routes.
The end of Nokia’s press release reiterates a strategic partnership with Microsoft and “to adopt Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform.” Nokia is trying to grow in the market along with Microsoft and hold onto its claim of 1.3 billion daily users of its devices as developing nations gain mobile Internet access.
Despite a weak presence in the United States, Nokia is still the world’s top mobile phone manufacturer, a title held since 1998. However, market share for Nokia continues to drag from 41% in 2008 to 31% in the final quarter of 2010.
The company has endured problems bringing developers to add to the Symbian platform, as the tools on it are considered difficult in comparison to those on the iPhone and the streaking Android platform, which according to Canalys research, recently surpassed the Symbian software’s decade-long run as the number one smartphone platform.
“It’s just a bit too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together,” said Tero Kuittinen, analyst at MKM Partners of Nokia, in an interview with Reuters. “Developers are bailing out in droves.”
A reduction in research and development for Finnish developers is also expected at the end of the month and could threaten upwards of 8,000 jobs.
In a separate release, Nokia reports growth in its Ovi Store, saying that its more than 200 million users of the Symbian have in excess of 40,000 apps to choose from and a network of developers that are adding around 1,000 more each week. While the offerings of the Ovi Store pale in comparison to the more than 350,000 apps available for the iPhone, growth is a positive sign.
The company claims the Ovi Store has approximately five million downloads a day, and has increased in size eight-fold through the last year.
