AT&T Hints At Replacing Java With Symbian In The Future

For all the hype about the rise of operating systems, one more carrier is hinting at plans to pare down the number to just one or two OS choices for its company-branded device lineup. AT&T's Roger Smith, director of next-generation services, said Symbian might become the OS of choice for future phones offered by AT&T under its own branding, CNET reports from the Symbian Partner Event in San Francisco. Such a move could spell an end for Java phones at AT&T (NYSE: T). Smith said there would be "dramatic consolidation from AT&T in terms of the mobile platforms and tool chains that we support ? Java has not been a success? It's not because Java is bad, but we didn't manage it effectively." Other carriers, like Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM), have been more aggressive at discontinuing support for some operating systems, and even Motorola (NYSE: MOT) narrowed its list recently.

Java and Qualcomm's BREW have long sought to give developers a single platform to build applications for numerous phones and carriers, but the ecosystem has become so fragmented that it hasn't worked out that way. Ask any developer and they'll routinely say their biggest hurdle is having to program for hundreds of devices and dozens of carriers with very little support from either. Earlier this week, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) completed its acquisition of the Symbian operating system and is finalizing plans to release it as an open-source platform next year.