Samsung confirms dropping Symbian in 2010
updated 08:20 am EST, Wed November 11, 2009
Samsung to replace Symbian with bada
Samsung senior VP Don Joo Lee today confirmed rumored plans that it will dismiss Symbian from its smartphones. The executive expects Android and Windows Mobile to remain but will completely phase out Symbian in 2010, replacing it with Samsung's in-house bada. A previous analyst forecast had Samsung scaling back its Symbian use to just a small percentage next year but had only anticipated a complete exit in 2011.
The OS switch is part of a larger technology strategy that's estimated to boost Samsung's 2010 shipments between 10 to 20 percent from its 2009 target of about 200 million. It will also continue to use Android and Windows Mobile, though the analyst prediction has use of Windows dropping significantly next year and becoming just a minority by 2012.
Official news of Samsung's move is a major blow to Symbian. The mobile OS developer depends primarily on Nokia and is still secure but, until now, has considered Samsung one of its most important customers. Sony Ericsson and multiple Japanese manufacturers building for NTT DoCoMo are its other primary clients.
