The Symbian Foundation announced today that it will shutting down all of its websites related to the Symbian OS on Dec. 17. The websites include the entirety of those developer sites and forums that centered around Symbian development. The move is part of the foundation's transition to a licensing body.
In a post on the Symbian Foundation's website today, the organization said its move to license the OS would mean "a reduction in the day-to-day operations of the Foundation by the end of the year."
The foundation said it is working to ensure that most of the content previously available on the Web, such as the source code, kits, wiki, bug database, reference documentation and Symbian Ideas, will be available on a DVD or USB hard drive upon request to the Symbian Foundation.
A press release from Nokia in early November outlined its intention to assume support and development of the platform.
"The changes announced by the foundation have no impact on Nokia's Symbian device roadmaps or shipping commitments. The platform powers hundreds of millions of smartphones - including our own - and we expect to deliver ongoing support and innovation benefitting the Symbian ecosystem in the future," said Jo Harlow, senior vice president of smartphones for Nokia, in a statement.
Nokia says it plans to continue to invest its own resources in developing Symbian and will expand its line of Symbian-based smartphones.
Nokia maintains that it is the "volume market leader in smartphones," recently releasing the Nokia N8, C7 and C6-01 which are based on the new Symbian ^3 OS.