I didnt know Symbian 3 was on its way.

[shortylickens]

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-10454064-78.html?tag=mncol;txt

Sadly, it looks to be almost as good as Android, which means by the time it comes out it will be way behind the curve instead of only slightly behind.
Even if it has the app support of Apple or Google (which is unlikely) I dont see this being very competitive with them after they've had years to get their infrastructure up. Am afraid this is going to be too little, too late.

Am also displeased Nokia keeps going with them when for their smartphones they have 3 other mobile OS's to choose from. I still believe Nokia makes the best hardware but their software is always going to be behind if they insist on staying with Symbian. For basic handsets, S60 is actually a lot better than the generic stuff found on low end Samsungs, Motorolas, and even LG's. But for the higher end phones its way behind the times. Also, I would not be surprised if we saw a stripped down Android being used on low-end phones some day.
Given that Nokia is supposedly the largest cell phone manufacturer in the world, I would think Google could let them have Android for free or dirt cheap, just for the opportunity to get market dominance over Apple and Palm. They darn sure arent getting much out of Symbian these days.

These are my thoughts.
Discuss?

 

[dguy6789]

Android is already free for any hardware maker to use as their main OS.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I would think Google could let them have Android for free or dirt cheap, just for the opportunity to get market dominance over Apple and Palm.

Google is sharing advertising revenues with carriers that use Android, according to multiple sources who are familiar with the deals. In some cases, sources said, Google is also cutting deals with the handset makers.

http://moconews.net/article/419-and...wn-advertising-rev-share-deals-/#keep_reading

Google pays manufacturers and carriers a kickback.

The Android OS has always been free and Google will assist manufacturers with the OS for free.

 

[shortylickens]

Soooooooo, this begs the question........... why the fuck is Nokia staying with Symbian?
Obviously they have been inferior for a while. They are only just recently starting to pick up the pace. And Google will either give them cold hard cash to switch, or at the very least, assloads of free help to make the switch.

 

[kalster]

I agree s60 is dated but its still the number 1 smartphone OS in the world. Nokia for whatever reason has never caught on in the US. They may not have the mind share but they surely have the market share

 

[Pliablemoose]

Soooooooo, this begs the question........... why the fuck is Nokia staying with Symbian?

A couple of actually pretty good reasons...

Letting Google into your company is sort of like inviting a polar bear into your house, sooner or later, you're gonna get killed and eaten...

 

[Fox5]

Android is not really an open platform, google controls its direction, features, everything.

Nokia is pushing forward with two truly open platforms, Symbian and Meego. It may not pan out, but it's a superior development philosophy, both platforms are open for other companies to use and improve. A company could fork android and build their own os around it, but their improvements won't make it back into android, an open OS development strategy is a much better idea for all companies involved, especially those that offer services in addition to selling hardware. Google also the platform for free in order to push their own services.

 

[shortylickens]

Android is not really an open platform, google controls its direction, features, everything.

Nokia is pushing forward with two truly open platforms, Symbian and Meego. It may not pan out, but it's a superior development philosophy, both platforms are open for other companies to use and improve. A company could fork android and build their own os around it, but their improvements won't make it back into android, an open OS development strategy is a much better idea for all companies involved, especially those that offer services in addition to selling hardware. Google also the platform for free in order to push their own services.

When they said "free" they meant like Linux, which is "Free speech" not "Free beer".

 

[Fox5]

When they said "free" they meant like Linux, which is "Free speech" not "Free beer".

That's the kind of free I meant. Google controls the platform direction of android, it's a one party system, but both symbian and meego are officially independent of nokia, and can be improved by other companies (or even individuals) and could potentially survive past nokia.

 

[erwos]

I seriously question whether Nokia is committed enough to Symbian and Meego to properly invest in them for the long-term. As others have already mentioned, it's hardware where Nokia excels. There's no reason that a combination of Windows Phone 7 and Android couldn't fit their needs on the software side.