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RIP: Symbian

This slide was just presented by Stephen Elop and Nokia CFO, Timo Ihamuotila, at Nokia's Capital Markets Day. Although there's no date listed, it's clear that Symbian -- a "franchise" OS that Nokia will "harvest" -- will be wholly consumed by Windows Phone on Nokia devices just as soon as Nokia and Microsoft can complete the transition. It won't be immediate, but it seems like 2012 will be the year that Nokia pulls the cord on life support. Regardless of the actual date, who in their right minds would invest their development time or consumer dollars in a smartphone OS that has no future within the company? One more slide showing the post-Symbian reductions in R&D spending after the break.