AT&T hints at ditching Java in favour of Symbian

US mobile operator AT&T has been talking about its plans to consolidate the number of mobile operating systems running on its handsets, and it seems Java could be for the chop.

At least, that's the immediate reaction to comments by AT&T's director of next-generation services Roger Smith, talking at a Symbian event.

He outlined plans for "dramatic consolidation from AT&T in terms of the mobile platforms and tool chains that we support", and went on to talk about Java:

"Java has not been a success. It's not because Java is bad, but we didn't manage it effectively."

As you may have guessed from the venue for his comments, Symbian is very much on AT&T's radar. The operator is a member of the Symbian Foundation, and Smith was enthusiastic about its prospects.

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

There could be big implications for mobile games firms, although many would welcome a shift towards Symbian, particularly those companies like Gameloft who've been pushing 'rich' mobile games in recent times.