Android Passes Symbian As Most-Shipped Mobile Platform 256
nk497 writes "Symbian is no longer the most-shipped mobile platform, with Android finally knocking Nokia's OS out of the number one position. Manufacturers shipped 32.9 million Android devices in Q4 of last year, compared to 31 million Symbian devices, according to Canalys. That gives Google a 33% share of the global mobile market, over 31% for Nokia's Symbian. 'It's gone from nowhere to number one in the space of two years, which is pretty impressive,' Canalys analyst Pete Cunningham said, predicting Android would double its growth rate this year."
Re:Nokia (Score:5, Interesting)
Hell no!
Nokias N900 has the X Terminal right there if you want it and you can get root access with a simple "root" command on the shell. Nokia fully supports it. The Windowing System is X. You can SSH to the phone via it's wifi and use it just like any remote X system. It's essentially a Linux PC with a great phone application in-built. It runs Skype perfectly. Almost every app on Linux can be ported to the N900 by a simple make and configure on the phone itself (yes you can put GCC straight onto the phone).
There's no way in hell i want Nokia to take the relatively locked-down Android path. They are doing the right thing as it is.
Re:Nokia (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a feeling that Nokia is actually two companies when it comes to OS development. On one side you have the Maemo/Meego guys that are relatively new and up to even two years ago were an insignificant part of the company. On the other.you have the old school Symbian guys that have been there for years, and who obviously do not want to lose their bread and butter by ditching their aging OS. So they chose to keep improving Symbian, hoping they will make it relevant and competitive. They might have had a shot if not for Android moving so quickly ahead.
Anyway, I posted in the previous Nokia thread from a few days ago, and there's no point in repeating everything I said there. But I definitely agree with your assessment of the N900. I still have mine and I use it as my only phone, pda, ebook reader, mp3 player and netbook. But it's not the hardware that is amazing, since a year and a half later it's starting to show its age. It's in the level of customization, since the thing is running a full version of Linux without any restrictions at all.
That's where Nokia should have pumped out more devices, even if the software wasn't perfect. I'd be very tempted to buy another Maemo/Meego device tomorrow if it had current 1Ghz+ dual core CPUs, more RAM and a slightly better camera.
Re:Hmm... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Nokia (Score:5, Interesting)
Hence, they are close too announcing a product. All current Qt apps from Symbian will work on it, so if people are happy with their current Symbian phones, they should be all go.
They are sitting on a nice product, let's just hope they can deliver. Sounds from Intel are such to indicate we can expect phones/tablets Q2 2011 ( http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3258820/intels-meego-os-to-start-shipping-tablets-and-netbooks/ [cio.co.uk] ). Don't forget the first thing the new CEO said was not to communicate about devices before they where actually ready to almost ship. So do things the Apple way when it comes to devices. That is a good strategy.