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Operating System Specific Discussions => Other Operating Systems => Topic started by: tone007 on February 11, 2011, 06:35:10 PM

Title: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: tone007 on February 11, 2011, 06:35:10 PM
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133684944/nokia-microsoft-join-forces-on-smart-phones
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 06:45:18 PM
If windows mobile is anything to judge by, wake me up when microsoft realizes its not 1998 anymore.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: tone007 on February 11, 2011, 06:47:04 PM
Luckily they aren't using Windows Mobile anymore, it's been retired in favor of the new Windows Phone, which is a completely new product.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 11, 2011, 06:48:54 PM
Dumping their failing (but massively popular) OS, and up and coming one, for a company that's failed in the mobile arena once, and has picked up precious little popularity the second time round....by a guy who's been there a few months, and last worked for....Microsoft.
Can anyone say...hatchet job.
Or commodore MK2?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 06:49:34 PM
Quote from: tone007;614888
Luckily they aren't using Windows Mobile anymore, it's been retired in favor of the new Windows Phone, which is a completely new product.


Ah good deal.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 11, 2011, 06:50:13 PM
Quote from: tone007;614888
Luckily they aren't using Windows Mobile anymore, it's been retired in favor of the new Windows Phone, which is a completely new product.


and looks like ducks arse that gives you wankers strain with all the scrolling. ;)
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: tone007 on February 11, 2011, 07:01:52 PM
Quote from: Khephren;614889
Dumping their failing (but massively popular) OS, and up and coming one, for a company that's failed in the mobile arena once


Symbian was never good for much in the US, while Windows Mobile (with all its faults) is still pretty widespread, especially on HTC phones.  Neither have much of chance against iPhone, Android or even Blackberry at this point.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 07:11:33 PM
With the blackberry tablet thats coming out, it looks like RIM is starting to take matters seriously.

At this point though, Android is more or less a foregone conclusion I think.


At least there's some real competition in the market place though, which helps everybody
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 11, 2011, 07:25:21 PM
The old WinMo was kludgey, but god were there a load of apps for it (ok, no easy app store). I still have my old HTC universal, great phone (if you like phones, laptops and transformers!).

I think apple will become a boutique product again, like they are on the desktop. I can't see anything stopping android now. When my N900 gives up the ghost, I think i'll get an android as well.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: odin on February 11, 2011, 07:25:28 PM
:(

My current E51 was my first smartphone and I love Symbian. It's a system where the main focus is making a phone call, unlike Android on my work HTC. Oh and I HATE the touch screen. The sooner all this touch screen malarkey dies the better..
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 11, 2011, 07:32:47 PM
I'm old school, I want my smart phone to be fairly smart, not with a finger friendly giant bubble OS (accept for calls). I like my stylus, and I like more information on the screen.
unfortunately I think Nokia agreed with me, that's why they are in trouble. did they ever release any capacitive touch screen phones?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: tone007 on February 11, 2011, 07:39:57 PM
I don't want a phone at all, I want a portable computer that can make the occasional phone call.

This works for me!

(http://www.toptechreviews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Motorola-Backflip-300x228.jpg)

..and it even has a touchpad on the back of the screen for when you don't feel like using the touchscreen.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 11, 2011, 07:54:49 PM
Quote from: tone007;614909
I don't want a phone at all, I want a portable computer that can make the occasional phone call.


Same here, smart phones are getting a bit dumber, with less info on screen. It's a fact of life.

my old phone:
(http://www.htcrepairparts.com/images/T-Mobile%20MDA%20Pro%20(HTC%20Universal).jpg)
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: itix on February 11, 2011, 08:10:22 PM
Quote from: tone007;614882
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133684944/nokia-microsoft-join-forces-on-smart-phones


This is simply great. Symbian was nothing but piece of sh*t.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: HammerD on February 11, 2011, 08:11:07 PM
Quote from: tone007;614882
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133684944/nokia-microsoft-join-forces-on-smart-phones


Symbian was/is crap anyway.  Good bye and I won't miss you! :)
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Karlos on February 11, 2011, 08:12:20 PM
Quote from: itix;614914
This is simply great. Symbian was nothing but piece of sh*t.


To be replaced with another steaming pile, this time courtesy of Microsoft.

Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: itix on February 11, 2011, 08:23:12 PM
Quote from: Karlos;614917
To be replaced with another steaming pile, this time courtesy of Microsoft.



And what other options they had? Going Android was not an option and Meego is nothing but hot air. They should have started making new OS from a scratch but Nokia lacks talent on that area.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 09:48:39 PM
Quote from: itix;614920
And what other options they had? Going Android was not an option and Meego is nothing but hot air. They should have started making new OS from a scratch but Nokia lacks talent on that area.


These days, any significant reason not to go with Android, rather than start from scratch or lock themselves into another vendor?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: hooligan on February 11, 2011, 10:15:24 PM
Quote from: runequester;614886
If windows mobile is anything to judge by, wake me up when microsoft realizes its not 1998 anymore.


If Amiga is anything to judge by, wake me up when people realizes its not 1998 anymore ;)
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 10:16:41 PM
Quote from: hooligan;614943
If Amiga is anything to judge by, wake me up when people realizes its not 1998 anymore ;)


Unfortunately I checked at Best Buy, and it turns out Crysis won't come out for the amiga :(
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Duce on February 11, 2011, 10:44:25 PM
Win Phone 7 isn't a bad mobile OS, anyone who has used it will tell you it's not all that bad.  But it's still a day late and a buck short and it will never even dent iOS and Android market share.

Nokia is in a hell of a spot with how rapidly their losses are stacking up, despite still being the most used brand of phone on the planet.

However, one thing Nokia always did right was hardware.  Anyone who has used the N8 and virtually all of its' more recent smartphone predecessors will tell you it's a great phone, hardware wise.  A little on the fat side physically, but the Zeiss lenses/cameras they are putting in them are simply stunning.

Nokia putting bank in Win phone 7 is however, a mistake.  The OS is nice, completely usable by anyones standards, it just won't ever be a formidable threat to Android or the iPhone.  They are putting their money on the wrong horse if they are solely going to be offering WP7 handsets.

I wish they had gone with Android - an Android/Nokia phone would be a hell of a piece of kit if done right.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: zylesea on February 11, 2011, 11:10:02 PM
From my spontaneous impression I also thought Nokia would be better off with Android, but then again latest Windows phone showed that MS learned quite a lesson. Plus, there is one thing that dramatically speaks for MS: Usually they are pretty successful on the market.

Anyway, since my quite some years old mobile started to fail recently I was justgoing to order a Nokia C5 (seems to be good enough for my mobile demand) and will probably do so regardless of these changes, but once it arrives I'll better quickly download all maps from the ovi store as long as the service will remain available.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on February 11, 2011, 11:20:35 PM
I have never used Windows Phone ever, but I developed for Windows Mobile once and I had to cry a little. The complete inability of the designers to understand a phone is NOT the equivalent of a desktop pc (having to use the stylus to operate a telephone is just not practical, nor has the start menu principle has any benefits, and especially not on a phone) plus it being much more unstable than even the lousiest Win9x incarnation... It's just... gah!
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: kedawa on February 11, 2011, 11:20:57 PM
Apparently Nokia's deal with MS gives them a lot more control over the platform than other manufacturers have been given.  Whether that will be a benefit to Nokia, or piss off other WP7 manufacturers is anybody's guess, but it sounds like a marriage of convenience (or desperation) to me.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 11, 2011, 11:36:15 PM
Quote from: Speelgoedmannetje;614958
I have never used Windows Phone ever, but I developed for Windows Mobile once and I had to cry a little. The complete inability of the designers to understand a phone is NOT the equivalent of a desktop pc (having to use the stylus to operate a telephone is just not practical, nor has the start menu principle has any benefits, and especially not on a phone) plus it being much more unstable than even the lousiest Win9x incarnation... It's just... gah!


I only have experience with 6.1 but it is indeed dreadfull. Freezes and crashes for no apparent reason, and a LOT of basic functionality just isn't there.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: aMIGA_dUDE on February 11, 2011, 11:36:41 PM
The intresting thing here is how will it effect the patent battle's between Nokia and Apple now?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Duce on February 12, 2011, 12:23:41 AM
Win Phone 7 is so head and shoulders above the old Windows Mobile OS the two really cannot be compared, both in actual user end experience and in regards to developers.  Win Mobile was an unmitigated trainwreck in comparison to the new MS phone OS.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: brownb2 on February 12, 2011, 01:12:26 AM
Symbian is like that old faithful dog, it used to be really good but as it got older and younger dogs ran rings around it it wanted to show it's master it still had a few tricks up its sleeve (cf. touch screens). It never quite pulled it off but you pitied it and patted it well done anyway (well I did - I got the Nokia 5230, great phone for battery life/GPS, naff for apps).

Symbian is imho the most bug free and secure platform, something which Android and Windows can't hold a candle to... shame that it looks so dated and it's UI behaviour is so peculiar (esp. with app locations, configuration etc.).
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: hooligan on February 12, 2011, 01:17:42 AM
Maybe some of you does not realize that the change from Symbian to Win is not done in one day. The WinOS will mature, I estimate it will take at least one or two years for Nokia to bring up a new concept-phone. I'm sure MS will invest a whole lot more time and money now that the marketleader in mobiles is with them.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Khephren on February 12, 2011, 02:43:02 AM
Quote from: aMIGA_dUDE;614964
The intresting thing here is how will it effect the patent battle's between Nokia and Apple now?

nokias current stupidity means that someone will buy them for their IP in a few years, who has the cash?
apple does.

@duce, good post mate.

the new guy elop has really thrown the baby out with the bath water. maemo was ace, if meemo was even half as good, it would have been ok. symbian was looking crusty and bloated, mainly on the UI. fixable, it certainly ran ok on lower end handsets- which helped nokia dominate the developing world (of which china and india are going to be very important, very soon).
they became intimidated, desperate to jump on someone elses band wagon, and let suits rule the day- weve seen this train wreck before, in fact most of us lived though it in 94
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: kolla on February 12, 2011, 06:13:22 AM
I want a stylus driven android PDA with calling abilities, what options are there?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Opus on February 12, 2011, 10:25:07 AM
I happen to really like Symbian, my old N95 with it's measly 16GB microSDHC reminds me alot of Amiga.  Can android users make a folder, move files and apps around or into that new folder?  Symbian has some very strong attributes, Android is still growing and changing monthly, I have not seen the new windoze mobile but my money will be on an Android device if/when my N95 ever dies. done rambling.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Karlos on February 12, 2011, 10:34:12 AM
Quote from: Opus;615023
I happen to really like Symbian, my old N95 with it's measly 16GB microSDHC reminds me alot of Amiga.  Can android users make a folder, move files and apps around or into that new folder?

Yes. Also, there are multiple "file managers" that are freely available to replace the basic android one (think of Dopus as a Workbench replacement here).

I've been using android on a "basic" smartphone (HTC Wildfire, 568MHz processor, QVGA display, no GPU. Contrast to the DesireHD and you'll see why it's basic) since Christmas and have been pleasantly surprised at what it's capable of.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: kickstart on February 12, 2011, 11:36:13 AM
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: tone007 on February 12, 2011, 01:57:44 PM
Quote from: kickstart;615027
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?


I heard that if you wrap your Android phone in foil then Google can't read your datas.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: zylesea on February 12, 2011, 02:26:24 PM
Quote from: tone007;615046
I heard that if you wrap your Android phone in foil then Google can't read your datas.

Don't forget the tin foil helmet. A proven classic, prevents from a lot of things.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: Karlos on February 12, 2011, 02:30:15 PM
Quote from: kickstart;615027
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?


If you feel that paranoid about it, install git and head on over to here: http://source.android.com/index.html
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: minator on February 12, 2011, 02:45:59 PM
Quote from: kickstart;615027
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?


No.  I've also heard a few horror stories about malware on it.
People complain about iOS being closed but I haven't heard much about malware on it.


This news from Nokia is not good at all.  The new boss is closing down a lot of the R&D. I've seen a few industry power houses do that over the years and the result is not pretty.  

Symbian certainly has had problems, but there's some very good tech in it.  The UI sucks and it's reportedly quite a pain to develop for.  However all that was changing, When they got it right Symbian phones could be very nice - I had an N95 8GB.  However it could also go wrong - I have an N97 which was abysmal at launch and still not perfect today.

If they'd continued they could have cleaned up the UI and made it easier to develop for.  The irony is this might actually end up happening.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: bloodline on February 12, 2011, 02:47:32 PM
Quote from: kickstart;615027
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?
Not really, it is open source... The only company I don't actually trust is Microsoft, who have history of illegal and untrustworthy activity :-/
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: jj on February 12, 2011, 02:48:10 PM
Well the N900 was a step in the right direction and Maemo is pretty decent.   Meego was looking very promising, but its going to get pushed to the ack.  Symbia was never any good as smartpone os, was ok for the middle spec phones.
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: whabang on February 12, 2011, 03:09:09 PM
Quote from: kickstart;615027
Im the only one who not trust in a OS made by google?
No, I know what you mean. Google is evil, I tell you! EVIL!
Title: Re: Bye bye, Symbian!
Post by: runequester on February 13, 2011, 09:01:00 PM
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/111645/20110211/nokia-workers-walk-off-the-job-to-protest-microsoft-deal.htm
 
Apparently the good people at Nokia aren't too enthused about their future