AndroidGuys

Nigell Clifford, the CEO for Symbian sat down for an interview with Cnet News days before CTIA 2008 begins. You can check out an excerpt from the interview here on Cnet News. When Google’s Android was first launched Clifford’s comments regarding an internet search companies entry into the mobile phone field could best be described as crass and defiant. How dare Google even think about trying their hand at a mobile phone operating system! Don’t they know who we (Symbian) are? Fast forward to the imminent launch of the first Android devices and we see Clifford’s comments have been toned down, and there seems to be a lot less bravado. While he still isn’t embracing Android or Apple as viable competitors in the mobile phone market, in this interview he’s taken the high road by showcasing the benefits and track record of the Symbian OS, rather than tear down his competitors.

Symbian’s market share in the US is almost non existent with Research In Motion and Windows Mobile dominating the smart phone market here. When asked what Symbian must do to gain market share in the US, he seemed to blame it on the current business model of US carries. “In the U.S., there’s perhaps been a different avenue for operators in terms of revenue growth for the last five or six years which has been pure subscriber growth. So, the order of the day has been subscribers at the lowest possible acquisition cost, which means the cheapest possible phone.” I’m not sure I buy this argument. The responsibility is on handset manufactures to produce compelling handsets that appeal to the smart phone community. Blackberrys have gone mainstream, with “soccer moms” carrying them regularly. The Samsung Blackjack sold very well, as did the HTC Dash and Shadow. Even high end devices like the T-Mobile Wing and the HTC Tilt enjoyed some success here in the states, so Nigell’s argument really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

If you build it, they will buy.