Following on from Nokia's announcement that it plans to do away with any distinction between the various versions of the OS, rumour suggests the Symbian Foundation - the non-profit body responsible for pushing the mobile OS out to the industry – could be in trouble.

The register claims a source close to Symbian has confirmed that the board is in the process of reviewing the Foundation's strategy going forward, following what's being pitched as a general drop in support for the platform.

Samsung recently stated its intention to focus on Android, its own platform bada, and the newly launched Windows Phone 7 for the foreseeable future, its former support for Symbian cast off as a result.

Likewise, though still a Foundation member, fellow OEM Sony Ericsson has confirmed it has no plans to launch any new phones running the OS any time soon, as it too is focusing on Android. 

Both withdrawals mean funds that previously flowed into the body have now been cut off.

All change

In response, Symbian Foundation executive director Lee Williams resigned from his position at the after two years' service due to what the company described as 'personal reasons'.

CFO Tim Holbrow immediately took charge of his duties, though any suggestion that the ship had been steadied by his appointment has been blown away by The Register's claim that his first task was to wind down operations and offer redundancy packages to employees.

Nokia now remains the one major Foundation backer, the recently launched N8 running the latest version of Symbian, despite the Finnish firm's plans to launch its own OS MeeGo – in conjunction with Intel – on smartphones next year.

It's possible even Nokia's financial support for the Symbian Foundation could be on the wane, with the company having recently announced that it plans to cut 1,800 jobs in the near future as it looks to reduce its expenses.

[source: The Register]