Motorola remains a Symbian licensee, and today reiterated that it will continue to support the OS. But the implication is that it will only do so if specific customers require it - something less than the wholehearted endorsement of the OS that it has offered in the past. Indeed, it now believes Java is the future, and while Symbian provides a host for Java apps, so do other smartphone operating systems.

"We believe Java is what ultimately provides our customers worldwide with the most optimised and differentiated mobile experiences," said Scott Durchslag, corporate VP of Motorola's Personal Communications Sector, in a statement.