The fall of the once-so-leading Symbian by the global giant Nokia was imminent but judging by its long legacy it was never predicted to be in such a rapid way. Before the high-end smartphones took over the market, the Nokia phones enjoyed almost a monopoly with the Symbian platform but nothing is permanent and especially when the growth rate is taken for granted, other companies with better aspects would soon catch up with the underdog, isn’t it? After all, none likes to use a mobile which is not efficient, not user-friendly and not good-looking.
As per a report published by Lauri Malkavaara in 2008, the first concern showed by him was the interface of any Symbian device that cannot compete with the user-friendly interface of iPhone by Apple. The next concern was the ease of navigation that the iPhone offered, while the Symbian devices of Nokia were found to be quite complicated to even set ringtone or share message. According to Malkavaara, the Symbian devices were more of a telephone if compared to the efficient iPhones and this has been avoided by the company for quite some time. If only had Nokia took some effective strategy to keep up with the technological development, the rapid fall would not have been the fate of Symbian platform.
Symbian Not Competitive –Nokia Knew All Along
Yes, no matter how much the company executives tried to explain the requirement of different types of mobile phones, it was evident that although people needed a bit time to adapt with the interface of the touchscreen models, the functionality swoon them over. It proves that Nokia was fully aware of the growing popularity of iPhone but perhaps it took matters for granted as the price of iPhone was incredibly high, much to bear for a person with an average income.
In the mean time Nokia was found to work on some secret project on developing a completely new operating system that would be user friendly and be compatible with the new age mobile phone models. The reliability was not confirmed however, it was a clear indication that the rise of Symbian platform was going to face something drastic. Even the executives too were found to agree on the fact that iPhone was much better to operate than the bulky Nokia handsets.
What Caused The Fall Of Symbian?
According to Nokia, the complexity of their models was responsible to take the rise of the Symbian upside down. During the early 2000’s or to be precise, until 2010, the Nokia-Symbian partnership was quite successful as the cell-phone market was dominated by the Nokia phones. With the emergence of smartphones of Android OS and iOS, people became more inclined towards them by opting out from the bulky simplistic mobiles from Nokia.
The final blow on Symbian’s monopoly was made sure by Nokia’s decision of forming partnership with Windows OS by Microsoft in 2011. It not only ended the legacy of Symbian platform but also thousands of workers were transferred to Accenture which was chosen by Nokia for outsourcing development.
- The complex and difficult code structure was the main reason for the fall of Symbian. While developing a Symbian OS took around 22 months, the Windows OS took less than 12 months and iOS takes even lesser.
- The sales growth of iOS was 300 percent whereas that of Symbian was only 5 percent within each quarter. When the growth rate of iPhone sale of the previous year was compared subsequently for each quarter, it was found that sale of Symbian models was quite less than that of iOS models.
Similarly, when the estimate was reduced to 100 percent for sales growth, it was found that by the end of the period, iPhone would still have more sale than Symbian devices.
Symbian models lack in functionality, efficiency and interface on a bulky mobile phone. But, is it really fair considering the fact that Nokia still has more market shares than Apple? Apple’s strategy and profit-making capability is commendable, but it is also a fact that it would not sustain that much profit when the sale is high like Nokia has been habituated to. Besides, the price of Nokia still appeals to people of all economic background, unlike Apple that is built for the elites!