Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Nokia to retire Symbian in North America, going all-in on Windows Phone

Nokia to retire Symbian in North America, going all-in on Windows Phone

We know that Symbian isn't dying any time soon, but here in the US of A the little OS that couldn't quite captivate our picky buyers will soon be mighty hard to find. Speaking with All Things D, Chris Weber, President of Nokia's US operations, said "When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc." That means no more full-price or business-focused devices in the US, and no more Symbian love. This is at least in part thanks to the failure of the Astound to find a solid foothold, but Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone offerings (like the Sea Ray) will at least follow in its footsteps, being sold with proper carrier subsidies and riding the wave of a giant advertising blitz. Will it work? According to Weber, it has to: "The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do."