Nokia Looking To Kill The Symbian

Nokia

issued a statement today to say that they are planning to kill the Symbian phone line. After teaming up with Microsoft

in February of this year, it was immediately clear that Nokia planned on scrapping the phone line and start using Windows Phone 7 for its smartphones as soon as it could. Questions are being asked, though, about whether this is the best move for Nokia, who also considered Google's

Android. The company said that it “didn't think it could differentiate its phones from all the other Android hardware on the market and on the way”. However, it has said in the past that part of the Symbian's problems are arisen from the fact that it is too different. In today's press release, Nokia chief Steven Elop said that, "Strategy transitions are difficult. We recognize the need to deliver great mobile products, and therefore we must accelerate the pace of our transition." Elop went on to say that the first Nokia Windows 7 phone will arrive by the end of the year. A broader selection is expected sometime in 2012. That's all well and good, but it leaves Nokia practically product-less during a competitive time. That will surely be good news for Sony

, Motorola

and every other competing company.