Nokia will soon start producing new smartphones based on Windows Phone 7 (and its newer versions perhaps), but won’t forget and leave Symbian behind at once – it will take a few years to completely switch to Microsoft’s product.
In his interview to Anna Shipley of Nokia Conversations, China Edition, Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop, said that Nokia will continue to invest in Symbian and support it for a few more years — till 2016.
“We’re in a period where the investment in Symbian absolutely continues,” Elop said. “Even as we go through a transition towards our primary smartphone platform, Windows Phone, you will see that continued investment. And I know there’s been questions about — so how long does that continue — and we’ve now been very clear about that, that software updates to Symbian devices are expected until at least 2016. So there’s a long history still to be paved for Symbian in the future.”
By the way, during the interview, Elop was also asked about the phones he uses and said that he uses many, including the ones made by Nokia’s competitors, “so I will always have a few competitor products to experiment with, to make sure I understand what’s going on in the market.” He also mentioned carrying the new Oro in China and added, “This particular device is something we are very proud of because it brings some very fine materials together with a very proven platform — so it’s something I’m using in-particular today.”
And here is the video of the interview.
