Nokia to retire Symbian for Nseries smartphones

Nokia has confirmed that it will not run the Symbian operating system on its Nseries smartphone range after the release of the N8, opting instead for the Linux-based MeeGo platform.

MeeGo is an open source platform created as part of the Moblin project, a joint venture between Intel and Nokia.

The operating system targets netbooks, entry-level desktops, handheld computers and communications devices, in-vehicle infotainment devices, connected TVs and media phones. Meego v1.0 is available to download.

"MeeGo running on high-performance devices will deliver a wealth of internet, computing and communication experiences with deep Ovi service integration. Going forward, Nseries devices will be based on MeeGo," Nokia said in a statement.

Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum, suggested that the announcement was not surprising as Nokia has made its strategy clear over the past six months, saying that it was going to retire Symbian in its high-end phones.

Nokia has always been focused on its own software platform, which the company believes gives it a strategic advantage, according to Leach.

"It took Symbian about 10 years to come to mass-market and it could take MeeGo around five years to establish itself. It remains to be seen whether Nokia can regain traction in the market in the long term using this strategy," he said.

Leach added that Nokia will continue to use Symbian on low-end phones and does not see the platform disappearing anytime soon.