Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has informed developers through an email that no new application will now be accepted on the Symbian and MeeGo platforms as of January 1st 2014. Nokia also said that no updates will be accepted to already existing applications on these platforms.
There are speculations that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s acquisition of Nokia may be the probable reason for this development.
Nokia to shift focus towards Asha, Windows platforms
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) cited increased opportunities available on Asha and Windows Phone platforms for the action, saying “We have decided to focus our support and investment in new content toward Asha and Windows Phone. Over the next few months we will be transitioning our active developer support away from Symbian and MeeGo.”
The email from Nokia says that if the user has Symbian and MeeGo content in the Nokia Store then it will be available for download to customers, and developers will receive downloads and revenue reports as well as payouts for downloaded content. But as of January 1, 2014, developers will not be able to publish any new content or update existing content for Symbian and MeeGo.
Harsh on Symbian users and developers
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) unveiled the first Symbian based handset in 2002, Nokia 7650, and the latest Symbian based handset was Pure View 808 in 2012. Accenture was given the responsibility to give support to all Symbian handsets of Nokia until 2016, but this will be a bit unfair because of legal requirements for warranty and repair, says a report from Forbes.
Not dropping any new application can be understood to an extent but not providing even the updates for those existing applications means trouble for a lot of users. For instance, if Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) updates its API then all the social functionality in these apps will be broken.
Symbian is almost on the verge of closing, but according to some developers and users the operating system is closing out at a much faster pace than needed. Developers have only three months to release updates for their apps running in the app store. Additionally, they will have to provide as much functionality as possible in the latest updates as it may be the last time they can cater to their user base.
There are still some users who are still using Symbian-based handsets and will definitely not be happy with the decision to halt the platform.
