PanicCode

Lately, you can read almost everywhere about the fail and death of Symbian mobile operative system. Apple iOS, Android or even Microsoft Windows Phone are now in better terms with blogs and press. Despite the loss of market share, Symbian phones are still having a good number of sales. Sure, there are a lots of things Nokia can do to improve the system, but now, I want to give you ten reasons why I think Symbian is still better than its natural rival, Android.

• Price. Android phones need more processor power and internal memory, so they save money on other materials and components. With the same amount of money, you can buy a Symbian phone with better materials and hardware features than any Android device.
• GPS. Ovi Maps are far better than Google Maps. It is not needed to be on-line to use Ovi Maps, and you can get guided voice directions anywhere in the world.
• Camera. Usually, Android phones do not have dedicated camera buttons, including the controls on the touch screen. Sensors, optics and overall camera, video and picture quality are worse than their Nokia counterparts.
• Battery life. Symbian was designed for a low energy consumption. Symbian smartphones have a better battery life than Android ones.
• No data plan required. Today it is becoming more and more common to contract data service to use it on your smartphone. Symbian devices can be used in this way, with a permanent connection, but it is not needed, you still can use most of it without one. Android phones are more “internet” directed devices, almost every Google service needs a connection.
• Form factor. There is little difference among Android models, vast majority are touch screen phones. Nokia Symbian catalogue has touch screen models, sliders, full qwerty and every usual form factor you need.
• Support. You do not buy an Android phone. You buy a Samsung, HTC or a Huawei device, and guarantee and support are done by those companies. Nokia has the best support service worldwide.
• Fragmentation. There are different Android versions, sometimes with overlaying manufacturer or network operator software. This fragmentation makes difficult for programmers to adapt their creations to different screen sizes or Android versions. As a result, you can buy and download a non working program from Android Market to your phone.
• Privacy. Android ‘with Google’, includes the usual Google apps. This company already has a lot of personal information from its users derived from the search engine. I am afraid to give Google, or any other big company, my mobile information: search, mail or location. With Symbian you are not relying so much on Nokia, for example, I have the option to use Ovi Store without having an Ovi email account.