Do you guys remember Symbian? Does anybody remember Symbian? We usually associate Symbian as the famed OS of Nokia phones, but I’m beginning to associate it with “non-existent.”

I see my fair share of Blackberrys, iPhones, and Android handsets, but rarely do I see a Nokia phone (or even feature phones) anymore. To be fair, I don’t even see Microsoft handsets anymore either, but at least they have Windows Phone 7 that’s to be released later this year which may spark some interest. But Nokia? I don’t see them doing anything that’s exciting or invigorating for the company or their product line. They’re getting really old, really quick, and Apple is even starting to penetrate their advantageous market in some places. Throw Google in the mix, and Nokia better start thinking about how to deal with the competition. Symbian offers nothing compelling compared to established, Internet based smart-phones that are pretty affordable to own.

The Symbian OS is declining at an accelerating rate according to Nick Jones of Gartner. Some are considering its demise – particularly I ask, has Nokia gotten any fresh blood? Apple and Google have been successful in acquiring top notch members from Palm for example, but I’ve yet to see Nokia come out and say, “We have this awesome new thing.” Not even a timeline. Perhaps Nokia will survive selling feature phones, but people are simply abandoning less capable handsets for Internet and app based devices. The company has gotten complacent with their position in the market – it’s inevitably going to hurt them if they don’t address the smart-phone arena.

[via SlashGear]