View source for Symbian Software

{{short description|Software development company}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox company 
| name = Symbian Software Ltd.
| logo = Symbian logo.svg
| type = [[Private company limited by shares]]
| industry = [[Software]], business services
| predecessor = [[Psion (company)|Psion]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1998}}<!-- If known, add |mm|dd|df=yes -->
| defunct = {{End date and age|2008|12|02|df=yes}}
| fate = Acquired by [[Nokia]]
| successor = [[Symbian Foundation]] (2008–2011)
| hq_location_city = [[Southwark]], [[London]]
| hq_location_country = England
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Juha Christensen, [[Colly Myers]], [[David Levin (businessman)|David Levin]], [[Nigel Clifford]]
| products = [[Symbian OS]]
| revenue = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income = 
| num_employees = 1,178 (2007)
| parent = 
| subsid = [[UIQ Technology]] (until 2007)
| footnotes =
| website =
}}

'''Symbian Ltd.''' was a [[software development]] and licensing consortium company, known for the [[Symbian]] [[operating system]] (OS), for [[smartphone]]s and some related devices.<ref name='BusinessWeek'>{{cite magazine |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1546771 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018020156/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1546771 |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 October 2007 |title=Symbian Ltd |access-date=26 July 2009 |magazine=[[BusinessWeek]]}}</ref> Its headquarters were in [[Southwark]], [[London]], [[England]], with other offices opened in [[Cambridge]], [[Sweden]], [[Silicon Valley]], [[Japan]], [[India]], [[China]], South Korea, and Australia.

It was established on 24 June 1998 as a partnership between [[Psion (company)|Psion]], [[Nokia]], [[Ericsson]], [[Motorola]], and [[Sony]], to exploit the convergence between [[personal digital assistant]]s (PDAs) and [[mobile phone]]s, and a joint-effort to prevent [[Microsoft]] from extending its [[desktop computer]] monopoly into the [[mobile device]]s market.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/24/andrew_on_symbian/ |title=Farewell then, Symbian |website=[[The Register]]}}</ref> Ten years to the day after it was established, on 24 June 2008, Nokia announced that they intended to acquire the shares that they did not own already, at a cost of €264 million.<ref name='Nokia 2008-06-24 Purchase'>{{cite web |url=http://www.nokia.com/press/press-releases/showpressrelease?newsid=1230415 |title=Nokia to acquire Symbian Limited to enable evolution of the leading open mobile platform |access-date=26 July 2009 |date=24 June 2008 |publisher=Nokia}}</ref> On the same day the [[Symbian Foundation]] was announced, with the aim to "provide royalty-free software and accelerate innovation",<ref name='Nokia 2008-06-24 Symbian'>{{cite web |url=http://www.nokia.com/press/press-releases/showpressrelease?newsid=1230416 |title=Mobile leaders to unify the Symbian software platform and set the future of mobile free |access-date=26 July 2009 |date=24 June 2008 |publisher=Nokia}}</ref> and the pledged contribution of the Symbian OS and user interfaces.

The acquisition of Symbian Ltd. by Nokia was completed on 2 December 2008,<ref name='Nokia 2008-12-02'>{{cite web |url=http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2008/12/02/nokia-acquires-symbian-limited |title=Nokia acquires Symbian Limited |access-date=10 June 2015 |publisher=Nokia}}</ref> at which point all Symbian employees became Nokia employees. Transfer of relevant Symbian Software Ltd. leases, [[trademark]]s, and [[domain name]]s from Nokia to the Symbian Foundation was completed in April 2009.<ref name='Symbian Blog 2009-04-02'>{{cite web |url=http://blog.symbian.org/2009/04/02/can-you-feel-it/ |title=Can you feel it? |access-date=26 July 2009 |date=2 April 2009 |work=Symbian Blog |publisher=Symbian Foundation}}</ref> On 18 July 2009, Nokia's Symbian professional services department, which was not transferred to the [[Symbian Foundation]], was sold to the [[Accenture]] [[Information technology consulting|consulting]] company.<ref name='Reuters 2009-07-17'>{{cite news |first=Georgina |last=Prodhan |date=17 July 2009 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLH7690720090717 |title=Accenture to buy Symbian services unit from Nokia |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref>

==Overview==
{{main|Symbian OS}}
Symbian Ltd. was the brainchild of [[Psion (company)|Psion's]] next generation mobile [[operating system]] project following the [[32-bit computing|32-bit]] version of [[EPOC (operating system)|EPOC]]. Psion approached the other four companies and decided to work together on a full software suite including [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]], [[device driver]]s, and [[user interface]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/The_story_behind_Sony_Ericson_and_UIQ_Technology.php |title=The story behind Sony Ericsson and UIQ Technology|date=7 November 2006 }}</ref> Much of Symbian's initial intellectual property came from the software arm of Psion.

Symbian Ltd developed and licensed Symbian OS, an operating system for advanced [[mobile phone]]s and [[personal digital assistant]]s (PDAs).

Symbian Ltd wanted the system to have different [[user interface]] layers, unlike Microsoft's offerings. Psion originally created several interfaces or "reference designs", which would later end up as Pearl (smartphone), Quartz ([[Palm (PDA)|Palm-like PDA]]), and Crystal ([[clamshell design]] PDA). One early design called Emerald also ended up in the market on the [[Ericsson R380]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

[[Nokia]] created the [[S60 (software platform)|Series 60]] (from Pearl), [[Series 80 (software platform)|Series 80]] and [[Series 90 (software platform)|Series 90]] platforms (both from Crystal), whilst [[UIQ Technology]], which was a subsidiary of Symbian Ltd. at the time, created [[UIQ]] (from Quartz). Another interface was [[MOAP]](S) from [[NTT Docomo]]. Despite being partners at Symbian Ltd, the different backers of each interface were effectively competing with each other's software. This became a prominent point in February 2004 when UIQ, which focuses on [[pen computing|pen]] devices, announced its foray in traditional keyboard devices, competing head-on with Nokia's Series 60 offering whilst Nokia was in the process of acquiring Psion's remaining stake in Symbian Ltd. to take overall control of the company.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/02/24/ui_wars_tore_symbian_apart/ |title=UI wars 'tore Symbian apart' – Nokia|website=[[The Register]] }}</ref>

==Shareholding==
The company's founder shareholders were Psion, Nokia and [[Ericsson]]. [[Motorola]] joined the Symbian consortium shortly later, gaining the same 23.1% stake as Nokia and Ericsson in October 1998.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=David |last2=West |first2=Joel |date=11 June 2013 |title=Evolving an Open Ecosystem: The Rise and Fall of the Symbian Platform |publisher=[[Emerald Group Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-78190-826-6}}</ref> [[Panasonic|Matsushita]] followed in May 1999 paying £22 million for an 8.8% stake.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/matsushita-joins-psions-alliance-1096038.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/matsushita-joins-psions-alliance-1096038.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Matsushita joins Psion's alliance |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=22 October 2011}}</ref> This was followed by [[Siemens]] taking 5% in April 2002<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/04/23/siemens_joins_symbian_club/ |title=Siemens joins Symbian club|website=[[The Register]] }}</ref> and [[Samsung]] also taking 5% in February 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240049564/Samsung-buys-5-stake-in-Symbian |title=Samsung buys 5% stake in Symbian}}</ref>

Motorola sold its stake in the company to Psion and Nokia in September 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kawamoto |first=Dawn |date=23 August 2003 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Motorola-to-sell-off-its-Symbian-stake/2100-1036_3-5070006.html |title=Motorola to sell off its Symbian stake |access-date=26 July 2009 |work=CNet News |publisher=[[CNet]]}}</ref>

In February 2004, Psion, the originator of Symbian, intended to sell its 31.1% stake in the company to Nokia. This caused unease amongst other shareholders as Nokia would gain majority control of the company, with Sony Ericsson in particular being a vocal critic. The deal finalised with the stake shared between Nokia, Matsushita, Siemens and Sony Ericsson in July 2004, with Nokia holding a 47.9% share.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2666038/networking/psion-s-symbian-sale-to-nokia-hits-inside-resistance.html |title=Psion's Symbian sale to Nokia hits inside resistance |date=5 March 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cripps |first=Tony |date=8 July 2004 |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Symbian%27s+Autonomy+Assured+as+Owners+Split+Psion+Stake.-a0119040949 |title=Symbian's Autonomy Assured as Owners Split Psion Stake |work=[[Computergram International]] |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref>

== Decline ==
The decline of Symbian Ltd. has been tied to Nokia's fate. By 2007, it enjoyed a high level of success with its operating system running one of every two mobile phones bearing the Nokia logo so that it claimed 65 percent of the mobile market.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.silicon.co.uk/mobility/smartphones/symbian-mobile-history-227097?inf_by=5b890fa3671db87d0d8b4da2 |title=Tales in Tech History: Symbian |last=Jowitt |first=Tom |date=2018-01-12 |work=Silicon UK |access-date=2018-08-31|language=en-US}}</ref> Its Symbian OS continued to dominate the market until Nokia acquired the company in its entirety in 2008, creating it as an independent non-profit organization called Symbian Foundation. Nokia donated the assets of Symbian Ltd. as well as the Nokia's S60 platform to the new entity with the goal of developing an open-source and royalty-free mobile platform.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Porting to the Symbian Platform: Open Mobile Development in C/C++ |last=Wilcox |first=Mark |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2009 |isbn=9780470744192 |location=West Sussex, UK |page=x}}</ref>

Nokia, however, began to lose its market share with the emergence of [[Apple Inc|Apple's]] [[iPhone]] and [[Google]]'s [[Android (operating system)|Android]]. To address this, Nokia abandoned the Symbian OS in favor of [[Windows Phone]] OS for its mobile devices, shipping its last Symbian handset in 2013.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2042071/the-end-of-symbian-nokia-ships-last-handset-with-the-mobile-os.html |title=The end of Symbian: Nokia ships last handset with the mobile OS |last=Null |first=Christopher |work=PCWorld |access-date=2018-08-31|language=en}}</ref> Having lost its biggest supporter and caretaker, Symbian was absorbed by [[Accenture]], which is supposed to maintain it until 2016.<ref name=":0"/> The prior Symbian Foundation has transitioned into a [[License|licensing]] entity with no permanent staff, claiming on its website that it is responsible for only specific licensing and legal frameworks put in place during the open sourcing of the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://licensing.symbian.org/ |title=Symbian Foundation |website=licensing.symbian.org |access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref>

==Licensees==
Licensees of Symbian's operating system were:
Arima, [[BenQ]], [[Fujitsu]], [[Lenovo]], [[Panasonic|Matsushita]], [[Motorola]], [[Nokia]], [[Samsung]], [[Sharp Corporation|Sharp]], [[Siemens]] and [[Sony Mobile]].

==Key people==
Symbian Ltd's [[CEO]] at the time of acquisition was Nigel Clifford.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.linkedin.com/ppl/webprofile?action=vmi&id=6414133 |title=Nigel Clifford |access-date=26 July 2009 |publisher=[[LinkedIn]]}}</ref> Prior CEOs included [[David Levin (businessman)|David Levin]], who left in 2005 to head [[UBM plc|United Business Media]], and the founding CEO, Colly Myers, who left the company in 2002<ref>{{cite news |last=Lettice |first=John |date=15 February 2002 |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/02/15/symbian_ceo_myers_exits_suddenly/ |title=Symbian CEO Myers exits suddenly |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref> to found IssueBits, the company behind [[text messaging]] Short Message Service ([[SMS]]) information service Any Question Answered (AQA).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/21/colly_myers_interview/ |title=Symbian founder on mobile past, present and future |access-date=26 July 2009 |last=Orlowski |first=Andrew |date=21 July 2004 |website=[[The Register]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Symbian Foundation]]
* [[Symbian]] OS

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Psion–Symbian}}
{{Symbian platform}}
{{Motorola}}
{{Nokia}}
{{Panasonic}}
{{Samsung}}
{{Siemens}}
{{Sony}}

[[Category:Defunct companies based in London]]
[[Category:Ericsson]]
[[Category:Motorola]]
[[Category:Nokia assets]]
[[Category:Panasonic]]
[[Category:Samsung subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Siemens]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1998]]
[[Category:Software companies disestablished in 2008]]
[[Category:Defunct software companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sony Mobile]]
[[Category:Symbian OS]]
[[Category:1998 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2008 establishments in England]]