2010 hasn't exactly been a banner year for Symbian, with Symbian^3 getting lipstick-on-a-pig reviews via the just-launched Nokia N8, top-tier supporter Samsung moving on, and chief exec Lee Williams either quitting or being shown the door. On that note, it comes as little surprise that doomsday rumors are starting to swirl -- and
The Register is citing a "source close to Symbian" as saying that new CEO Tim Holbrow is under orders to square things away for closure while some employees have apparently already been offered severance packages. Seeing how Sammy was one of the Foundation's primary sponsors (along with Nokia and Sony Ericsson), it's reasonable to believe that they're finding themselves in a cash pinch -- and now that Nokia is de-emphasizing the concept of Symbian^4 altogether, it seems like there might be little work for these guys left... especially considering that Sony Ericsson has no new Symbian products in the pipe. Putting a CFO in charge of a
company is often a sign that the bottom line -- not product innovation -- is the priority, and realistically, there's never been a better time for Nokia to bring things back in-house since other manufacturers have moved on and MeeGo isn't ready for prime time just yet. Time to call Symbian dead? Far from it, but a major shake-up is starting to feel inevitable.
El Reg
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