back to article Android up, Symbian down

Android is the clear winner in the market for smartphone operating systems, showing big year-on-year jumps across Western Europe and in the US. Not so Symbian, which plunged over here - and has now nearly vanished on the other side of the pond. The latest figures come from Kantar, a self-styled "inspiration supplier" which …

COMMENTS

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  1. Mark Jonson
    Coat

    So...

    Where's Windows Phone in all this?

    1. Stephen 5
      Joke

      RE:So...

      "Where's Windows Phone in all this?"

      Bricking handsets and keeping customers away I suspect.

  2. spencer

    "Apple has a low-priced phone, the iPhone 3GS"

    Just had a look on amazon for the iphone 3gs...

    It's £419.99

    You *cannot* say that's low priced.

    1. chr0m4t1c

      Wilful misunderstanding?

      Also available free on most networks on contract, which is how most people buy their phones.

      Because of the unique way The Register is funded I should point out that other smart phones are also available for free on contract or for stupid money SIM free.

  3. Chris 211
    Unhappy

    Symbian Anna

    I am a die hard Nokia fan, I have had Nokia's from day one with the 101... I have loved my e71 for years but its battered to bits, you cant say its not a business phone it ticks all the boxes and I thought the same would be for the e6 with Symbian Anna... Oh how wrong I was Symbian Anna is clearly trying emulate that children's iPod the iPhone with its rounded edge icons linking to 'apps' and having nothing of any use what so ever on the home screen! The e71 showed you your next appointment, TODO's messages, music player, missed calls, etc etc all on one screen, you didnt even have to unlock it for a quick view! Anna just sucks its kiddy's playtime. Oh well, I guess its the blackberry for me now.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      maybe

      You might want to look into OpenMoko, or get a Psion, seeing as how you are surfing on the cutting edge of obsolete companies...

    2. Martin Eyles

      Active Standby

      It might just be the default. It's probably worth checking the settings to see if active standby is listed.

    3. David Beck

      Just buy old E Series

      I now have a collection of the older E Series phones to carry me through the current Fisher Price Phone fad. Nokia are updating the E72 and E52 with a few updated apps and you will find that most of the other apps for Symbian can still be found (but install them now as they will doubtless disappear).

      A disclaimer here, I know the E Series do not have touchscreens. I consider this an advantage. I know the E Series are not particularly media presentation friendly, I could not care less. I know that the E Series are excellent at telephony, integrate with Google apps pretty well and have long battery life, all of which I do care about. I also find that my E52 has a DLNA client and control point, FM and internet radio, GPS and maps, integrated (with the native contacts DB) SIP client, and the sort of "home" screen as discussed above. I also understand that some people find it very complicated to use. I don't.

  4. Stubar
    FAIL

    Meh!

    If Apple treated their customers with respect and didn't aggressively label their products as legacy whilst still actively selling them then I for one would stay with them. However, I'll go to an OS that at least gives me a choice of what I want.

    "the iPhone 3GS, but it's perceived as an old, previous-generation product," Because that's what Apple WANT you to think!

  5. Ralthor
    Facepalm

    Dont you think...

    ... it would be better to compare like with like? Manufacturer Vs manufacturer sales rather than nokia Vs all the manufacturers who use android? Otherwise its a bit like saying that a mini gets better fuel efficiency than a hovering jumpjet.

    1. Lyle Dietz
      Meh

      Err, no.

      Because Nokia isn't the only manufacturer to make Symbian phones, and not all Nokia smart-phones are Symbian.

    2. Phalamir
      FAIL

      They did compare like to like

      It was a comparison of smartphone operating systems, not the phones themselves. That Android has taken a shotgun approach to dispersement while Symbian has decided to restrict itself to only one manufacturer (well until Nokia carries it outside behind the barn for some one-on-ax-handle time) is a variance in strategy, but discussing the growth or loss of one OS to another is perfectly valid. Now, if the comparison had been "phones that have X specs and features", then yes, comparing Nokia to all the Android ones en masse would be apples and oranges, but this is Grannysmith vs. Red Delicious.

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