Today we have released an update of Toshl Finance for Symbian^3 containing some fixes to make it more reliable and quicker. We’ll soon be releasing a similar update for the MeeGo platform. These will be the last releases of Toshl Finance for these two platforms. It has been quite a ride, but I think we need to start seeing other platforms.
Toshl remains available on Symbian and MeeGo
Toshl will remain available on both platforms and will continue to function normally in the future, including sync with toshl.com and all the other goodies. You can download the Toshl Finance app on the Nokia Store. The only thing that changes is that Symbian and MeeGo versions won’t be getting new features as they become available on other platforms.
You can also use Toshl Finance on iOS, Android or Windows Phone or the Web and once you log in, all the data that you entered or Symbian (or any other device) will automatically be available there.
Why we aren’t developing new features on Symbian and MeeGo
It’s quite simple really, Symbian has recently been officially discontinued few months ago, but the writing has been on the wall for both Symbian and MeeGo ever since Stephen Elop released the burning platform memo and announced the transition to Windows Phone in 2011. Symbian, while great in its heyday, never completely got it’s edge back after the release of iPhone and later Android and was on a doomed trajectory for a while while still enjoying relatively high market share around the world.
MeeGo was and is a great mobile operating system with some user experience innovations, which other mobile OS makers can still learn from today. Sadly it was a late entrant to the platform wars and never got the proper wind in it’s sails it required from Nokia. For years Nokia had a slightly schizophrenic platform strategy instead of focusing on one future platform. Which probably should have been MeeGo at the time. Perhaps a more apt metaphor that Elop could use, would be that they were standing on multiple burning platforms and instead of deciding which platform to put out the fire on, they decided to jump into the waters of Windows Phone and Microsoft collaboration.
Agree or disagree, we could debate the merits of those strategic decisions for days. During coffee breaks at Toshl, we often do. The fact remains though, Symbian and MeeGo market share is falling fast and with it the user base of people who could use applications like ours. We need to focus on platforms where growth is strong and a viable future remains.
Godspeed Nokia and Windows Phone
What we’ve always appreciated about Nokia though is that they always had regional representatives you could talk to, cared about localisations and were ready to cooperate with marketing campaigns as well. This is sadly changing now as their orientation becomes more and more US-centric as software development has shifted largely to Microsoft and cost-cutting takes place.
We certainly hope Nokia’s new Windows Phones and the new strategy grow successful. We genuinely like the Windows Phone OS and Toshl Finance on Windows Phone is popular, well polished and continues to be high on our roadmap. It also enables us to develop nifty little things like live tiles that show how your budgets and balance move as time goes by, right on the home screen.
What’s up with the Toshl Symbian & MeeGo developers?
Nejc Pintar, our erstwhile Qt developer, is moving on to iOS development, coding the upcoming Toonia Colorbook iPad app. While that’s occupying him during work hours he remains an avid Qt supporter in his free time and continues to participate in the Qt community.
So farewell Symbian, MeeGo and thanks for all the (sail)fish.