atmaspheric | endeavors

Its a very candid series of comments about Android and Apple but as open as Symbian is, it just isn't attracting the same degree of interest as Android and the iPhone. It is still going to be a few years before the Symbian UI is really revamped (although I am interested in this new version of Symbian that Om got to see) and that is a lot of time for Android and the iPhone to entrench themselves even further.

Personally I think Android is going to become a dominant platform in the near future. It is building a lot of momentum and we see more and more devices coming out with Android every day. Heck, just look at the state of the market 6 months ago compared to now. The number of Android phones has exploded and while the holiday season is a big reason for that, I don't see many, if any, Symbian phones outside Nokia.

I just saw a tweet that Sony Ericsson is launching an Android phone next week. That is telling.

Exactly - Symbian needs to deliver substantial change to re-connect with the momentum that has been building against them. Years of being difficult to develop for and a complex UI for the consumer ...

Do you think Symbian can hold on to its lead with any meaningful update still a year or more away?

I'm not feeling it ... Seems like Symbian has a very uphill battle to retain share for Nokia (as their primary distribution platform). Android is very aggressively cranking away across a lot of devices and partners. We'll see what happens I guess ... but it seems like they are going to lose share - particularly in the higher end segments.

I just watched the Android 2.0 video and the updated UI and features really highlight what is missing in Symbian. I updated my N97 to the new firmware this evening and while it runs a little better, I just don't see a comparable OS when I look at Android.

The speed of change in Android is the thing to watch ... It's improved steadily and very quickly. Unlike Symbian ...