It finally happened. Symbian is gone and Nokia's mobile Linux platform, MeeGo, is in serious doubt.
Bloomberg
mocoNews.Net
Nokia gave up Symbian long time ago, right at the moment it bought Symbian and made it an open source. Nokia did not want to admit it in the hope of protecting its share price. Now, what would Qt of Trolltech do? Nokia bought Trolltech in 2008 with the intention of creating a uniform interface across S60, S40 and its then Linux platform, Maemo. Now S60, which sits on top of Symbian, bade its farewell; the visibility to Meego's future is unclear, and it does not add value to unify S40 with high end platforms. What does Qt plan to do with its API to Windows Mobile? Or not? Or will Nokia spat Qt out like EBay spat out Skype? Windows Mobile developers don't need Qt. They have been doing their trade for many years under Microsoft's leadership.
As Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra commented on Nokia's decision in his tweeter post, "Two turkeys do not make an eagle." He actually quoted this from Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's ex EVP. Ironically, Vic Gundotra is an ex-Microsoft employee.
"Two turkeys make a bigger dish", I might add. Big mobile carriers do not want Nokia tread the Android path, afraid it will create an Apple/Google duopoly. But a join force between Microsoft and Nokia will not prevent it from happening. It is not because Windows Mobile is not good enough, but Nokia will not do it whole-heartily. Nokia did not kill MeeGo to show its resolution. It needs MeeGo for leverage. On the other hand, Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, needs Windows Mobile to keep MeeGo from becoming complacent. Will this strategy work? Not for a big organization like Nokia. It just creates confusion, grudge and diversion. This reminds me of Gil Amelio, Apple's ex-CEO before Steve Jobs's come-back. Amelio cleaned the house so Jobs did not have to. Maybe that is what Elop will be in Nokia's history.
I am glad I have not spent time in developing applications for Symbian/Qt phones. It will take a lot for Nokia to restore trust among developers. Maybe Nokia will continue to be the king of low-end mobile phones, though the king knows he has very little on him. After all, the world still needs a lot of low-end phones for a long time to come.
Bloomberg
mocoNews.Net
Nokia gave up Symbian long time ago, right at the moment it bought Symbian and made it an open source. Nokia did not want to admit it in the hope of protecting its share price. Now, what would Qt of Trolltech do? Nokia bought Trolltech in 2008 with the intention of creating a uniform interface across S60, S40 and its then Linux platform, Maemo. Now S60, which sits on top of Symbian, bade its farewell; the visibility to Meego's future is unclear, and it does not add value to unify S40 with high end platforms. What does Qt plan to do with its API to Windows Mobile? Or not? Or will Nokia spat Qt out like EBay spat out Skype? Windows Mobile developers don't need Qt. They have been doing their trade for many years under Microsoft's leadership.
As Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra commented on Nokia's decision in his tweeter post, "Two turkeys do not make an eagle." He actually quoted this from Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's ex EVP. Ironically, Vic Gundotra is an ex-Microsoft employee.
"Two turkeys make a bigger dish", I might add. Big mobile carriers do not want Nokia tread the Android path, afraid it will create an Apple/Google duopoly. But a join force between Microsoft and Nokia will not prevent it from happening. It is not because Windows Mobile is not good enough, but Nokia will not do it whole-heartily. Nokia did not kill MeeGo to show its resolution. It needs MeeGo for leverage. On the other hand, Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, needs Windows Mobile to keep MeeGo from becoming complacent. Will this strategy work? Not for a big organization like Nokia. It just creates confusion, grudge and diversion. This reminds me of Gil Amelio, Apple's ex-CEO before Steve Jobs's come-back. Amelio cleaned the house so Jobs did not have to. Maybe that is what Elop will be in Nokia's history.
I am glad I have not spent time in developing applications for Symbian/Qt phones. It will take a lot for Nokia to restore trust among developers. Maybe Nokia will continue to be the king of low-end mobile phones, though the king knows he has very little on him. After all, the world still needs a lot of low-end phones for a long time to come.
