AT&T Reducing the Mobile OSs It Offers, May Get Serious about Symbian

AT&T is planning on reducing the number of mobile operating systems it supports, which could lead to the new open-source version of Symbian taking a larger role in this carrier's lineup. 

Speaking at the Symbian Partner Event, Roger Smith, director of next-generation services at AT&T, said there would be "dramatic consolidation from AT&T in terms of the mobile platforms and tool chains that we support," according to CNET.

It currently offers smartphones based on BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm OS, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, as well as operating systems created for feature phones. Smith didn't say which of these will get cut, but he did suggest that Symbian may play a larger role in this company's plans than it does now.

Nokia and its partners are in the process of merging Symbian with S60 and UIQ, and making the resulting operating system open source. AT&T is considering making this upcoming version the basis for the low-cost phones it sells under its own brand name.

"We want to standardize our platforms on a platform like Symbian that is mature and effective," said Smith.

AT&T isn't going to stop offering smartphones, and the new Symbian version will be just for its entry-level models.

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