The Downfall of Symbian: First modern OS in mobiles

Symbian OS was a mobile operating system designed for smartphones and other mobile devices. It was developed by Symbian Ltd., a consortium of technology companies including Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and others. The operating system was based on the EPOC kernel, which was originally developed by Psion in the 1990s. It was launched in the market with the Ericsson R380 in 2000.

Symbian OS was first released in 1999 and was widely used in mobile devices until the early 2010s. It was known for its flexibility, customizability, and support for various hardware configurations. Symbian OS supported a wide range of programming languages including C++, Java, and Python, which allowed developers to create a variety of applications for the platform.

Nokia and Symbian

Nokia's first operating system was called "Nokia OS" or "NOS" for short. It was developed in the early 1990s and was used in the company's early mobile phones such as the Nokia 1011 and Nokia 2110. The user interface was very basic and primarily consisted of text menus, and the OS did not support any third-party applications. Nokia later transitioned to using the Symbian OS for its smartphones.

Nokia and the Symbian OS had a long-standing relationship. Symbian was initially developed as a closed-source operating system in 1998 by Psion, and Nokia became a major investor in Symbian in the early 2000s. Nokia eventually became the largest shareholder in Symbian and took over its development and licensing in 2008.

Symbian was used on a wide range of Nokia phones, from entry-level phones to high-end smartphones. Symbian phones were known for their durability, long battery life, and customizable features. Symbian also had a large library of third-party apps, which allowed users to customize their phones with various games, productivity tools, and other utilities.

The Downfall of Symbian

However, despite its early popularity, Symbian began to decline in the late 2000s as competitors like Apple's iOS and Google's Android emerged. In 2002, Blackberry launched it’s first smartphone with its own OS and joins the race with Symbian. Later, in 2007 iOS was launched.

As Blackberry and Apple have their own OS, they have introduced software update for their phones. This is where Symbian started to struggle with keeping up the pace with Blackberry and Apple. Symbian OS was used in Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and others at that time. Symbian cannot provide software update for all the mobile brands.

In 2008, Android was launched by Google as open source and most of the brands started using Android in their smartphones. Main advantage of Android is that creating an application is relatively easy than for Apple. So, many company started advertising their brands using Android.

Nokia struggled to keep pace with the rapidly changing mobile market, and its partnership with Microsoft to produce Windows-based smartphones did not succeed. In 2013, Nokia announced that it would be ending support for Symbian and focusing on developing smartphones for the Windows Phone operating system. The company's mobile phone business eventually faltered, and in 2014, Nokia sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft.

Factors that contributed to the downfall of Symbian

• Lack of innovation

Symbian had a relatively outdated user interface compared to newer mobile operating systems like iOS and Android. Symbian's user interface was also criticized for being cluttered and difficult to use, which led to a decline in user satisfaction.

• Fragmentation

Symbian's open-source nature allowed for a wide range of customization options, but this also led to fragmentation in the platform. Different phone manufacturers implemented different versions of Symbian, which made it difficult for app developers to create apps that worked seamlessly across all devices.

• Poor app ecosystem

Symbian had a large library of third-party apps, but the quality of those apps was often subpar compared to those on other platforms. Symbian also lacked a centralized app store, which made it difficult for users to find and download apps.

• Competition from iOS and Android

The emergence of iOS and Android in the late 2000s proved to be a significant challenge for Symbian. These newer operating systems offered better user experiences and more robust app ecosystems, which made them more attractive to consumers.

• Nokia's missteps

Nokia, which was Symbian's largest shareholder and a major player in the mobile phone market, made several missteps in its efforts to compete with newer platforms. For example, the company was slow to adopt touch screen technology and failed to create a compelling user experience for its Symbian-based devices.

Today, Symbian is no longer in active development, but its legacy as a pioneering mobile operating system lives on. It was one of the first mobile operating systems that allowed for extensive customization and provided a large app library, which set the stage for later mobile platforms like iOS and Android. While Symbian may no longer be in use, it played a significant role in the development of mobile technology and paved the way for the modern smartphone era.