Maemo Nokia_N900Nokia has announced that its line of N-Series phones will be using the new Maemo operating system. As seen with the Nokia N900 (which is currently being shipped all over Europe), the newer N-series phones will be using versions of Nokia’s new operating system.

However, the announcement only covers high end devices, particularly the N-Series. Nokia has been very consistent in specifying that their “high-end” devices will be using the new Maemo operating system. As many already know, Nokia generate great (greater?) profit from the sales of its low end GSM devices not only in Europe but all over the world. The N-Series may be the flag bearer of the Nokia brand, but the profit that the N-Series generates is not on the same level as the bulk of Nokia’s GSM phones.

Still, the fact that Nokia is using the Maemo on its forefront means that it will be supporting the Symbian less and less as the next few months roll around. While it is still unlikely that Nokia would ever drop Symbian, that possibility still exists. Should Nokia ever develop a Maemo for their GSM line, then the future for the Symbian is truly bleak.

For now, Symbian is getting its own spotlight outside of Nokia as other manufacturers try out the Symbian S60 operating system for themselves. Most notable is the highly fashionable Sony Ericsson Kurara (the Kurara sports an HD screen with an 8.1 megapixel camera capable of taking 720p video). Seeing the S60 on such a high end device shows that the Symbian is far from dead.

With new operating systems being launched (like Samsung’s Bada) and the Google potentially monopolizing Android with the launch of their own phone (they have not given out 2.0 SDK until recently too, despite the 2.0 being around for months), it seems like the status of operating systems on mobile phones might see a huge shift next year.