How S60 is declaring independence from PC Suite (and from computers in general)

Published by Tzer2 at 7:06 UTC, September 23rd 2008

If you have an S60 smartphone then you've almost certainly connected it to a PC at some point. But how long will this carry on? Will there come a time when PCs are no longer needed at all by smartphone users? Tzer2 investigates...

How S60 is declaring independence from PC Suite (and from computers in general)

Ever since phones with advanced multimedia capabilities began to appear on the market, there's been a general assumption that device owners would use them in tandem with their home computers, probably Windows-based PCs. That's why applications like Nokia PC Suite were written, to ease the task of transferring data back and forth between phone and computer.

Could this end? Could we see in a situation where S60 smartphones no longer require PCs at all? Let's go through PC Suite's main functions one by one to see how things stand...

(We've deliberately left a few functions out as it didn't really make much sense to include them: for example, you probably wouldn't want to connect a PC to the internet without a PC.)

Backing Up Phone Data

One of PC Suite's most useful features is being able to back up your phone's contents so that if the phone has to be reformatted for some reason, or if you have to move data to a new phone, you have all the info you need safely stored on your computer.

Can the computer be replaced? - Well, sort of, and in theory it already has been. S60 phones (and PDAs before them) have long offered the alternative of backing up the phone's data to a memory card, and modern memory cards have more than enough space to do this. Unfortunately memory card backups never seem to work as reliably as computer-based ones, so the recommended method remains using your PC, but if the memory card method could be improved then it may become a very viable alternative that would let you back up data wherever you are.

One caveat: If you store the backup's memory card in your phone and you then lose the phone, the backup is useless. However, that can be solved very easily by removing the card with the backup on it and keeping it in a safe place.

Updating The Firmware

Firmware updates are great: they fix bugs, sometimes add new features, and can make your phone feel like a new device again (and they're free!). Originally they were only available at authorised service centres, but nowadays they're usually available to download through your home computer. With Nokia S60 devices they require the Nokia Software Updater, which is only available for Windows, which has excluded those who use Linux, Macintosh or any other "alternative" operating system.

Can the computer be replaced? - Yes. More and more new S60 models allow Over-The-Air (OTA) updates, where the latest changes to a phone's operating system are downloaded straight onto the handset either through Wi-Fi or the phone network. All you need is the phone and a working internet connection, so (in theory) the computer is being pushed completely out of the picture. One caveat though, phones without Wi-Fi (such as the 6220 Classic or 5320 XpressMusic) require a cheap or flat rate data plan in order to make OTA updates reasonably priced.

Transferring Music

You buy a CD album, you put the music from the CD onto the computer, then transfer it again from the computer to the phone. Computers are required for this process not just because they have a CD drive but because computers also have a much greater storage capacity than a phone, so they can serve as a comprehensive track library. The same model is used for filling dedicated music players, and it's no surprise that phones went down exactly the same route.

Can the computer be replaced? - Yes. A lot of people now buy music as music files, so you no longer need a CD drive, and some digital music stores allow tracks to be purchased directly onto handsets, so you no longer need a computer either. On S60 such a service is provided by Nokia Music Store, which is built into practically all of Nokia's new S60 models so it's extremely hard to miss. On top of this, phone storage capacities are starting to go through the roof, with even microSD memory cards pushing through the 8 gigabyte barrier and the upcoming N96 offering 16 gigabytes of built-in storage plus whatever you can fit onto a microSD card as well (giving an official maximum capacity of 24 gigabytes or about 10,000 music tracks).

Another interesting development may happen in an upcoming version of the Symbian OS, which will apparently contain support for USB host mode. This mode would allow Symbian phones to host USB accessories, so for example you could plug in a USB keyboard and use it to type on the phone, or attach a USB flash drive and access files on it. In theory this would also allow USB CD drives to be connected straight into the phone so you could transfer CD albums directly without a PC.

Storing Photos & Videos

As with music, computers have often been seen as the ideal place to store photos and videos taken on a phone. Modern computer HDDs can store virtually unlimited numbers of images, and even video files would struggle to fill a computer's storage space.

Can the computer be replaced? - Yes. The advantages of computer storage are being eroded in two ways: phones are getting far more storage space (multi-gigabyte memory cards now cost less than the cheapest phone), but perhaps more significantly phones are also starting to include methods for uploading photos and videos onto online storage services. On S60 devices these can include Nokia's own Ovi Share or third party offerings like Flickr, and because they often have no storage limit S60 users can take as many photos and videos as they want without (theoretically) even needing a memory card.

Syncing Data

Perhaps the oldest form of connection between portable devices and computers has been the syncing of personal organiser data to a desktop-hosted PIM suite. This is still done on S60 phones through PC Suite.

Can the computer be replaced? - Not if we mean syncing with computers of course, that does require at least one computer, by definition. But syncing with other devices is already possible through various built-in and third party apps, and you can also sync between devices using Switch, built into all Nokia S60 phones and also online services such as Ovi Sync.

We also mention syncing because Ovi Sync (handling calendar, address book, to do and notes data) can also be used as a pure backup method, so that the data it would normally sync can be redownloaded to your phone if the original data has been lost for some reason. It would be nice to see this kind of online backup expanded to cover all phone data (SMS, bookmarks, call logs, etc) as it's a very convenient way of making an off-site backup whenever you want to.

Viewing photos and videos at full size

One of the most frustrating things on any phone is trying to see how good a photo looks at full size on a pocket-sized screen. The traditional solution is to transfer it onto a computer and take a look, and this is probably still the most common way of viewing cameraphone images in detail.

Can the computer be replaced? - Yes, it already has been on several S60 models with TV Out, which lets you plug the phone into practically any television set. Although most of the phone's functions are shown in QVGA through TV Out, photos and videos are displayed at much higher resolutions. In addition, uploading photos to Ovi Share or Flickr, or similar, means that you can then view these images on any Internet-connected screen (i.e. not necessarily your own PC/Mac).

Installing Applications

One of the main features of S60 smartphones is their ability to run native applications, and these have usually been purchased, downloaded and installed using a computer and PC Suite, with the phone attached by USB cable or Bluetooth.

Can the computer be replaced? - In a way it always has been, S60 phones have technically always been able to download and install apps directly from the phone's own web browser. Unfortunately many factors worked against this including app sites that weren't optimised for viewing on a phone, those which weren't properly configured to serve up SIS files, high data charges from mobile network operators, limited space on memory cards and low download speeds on mobile networks.

These problems are all starting to disappear however: many online app shops can be fairly easily accessed on S60 phones (partly because the browser is much better and partly because the sites may offer a phone-oriented version), data charges are tumbling around the world, memory cards now have enough space for hundreds or even thousands of apps, and network speeds are getting faster all the time as 3.5G networks are introduced to ever-wider areas.

In short, it's now very plausible to buy and download apps entirely through your phone. And once you've collected a bunch of SIS files of your favourite applications, it's quite easy to host these on something like Nokia MOSH and have instant access later on from a new or virgin phone.

Download Maps

A more recent addition to PC Suite has been its option for downloading mapping data into your phone's Nokia Maps application.

Can the computer be replaced? - Well, users have always been able to download the same map data directly onto the phone within the app as they needed it, but that hasn't really been viable for many people due to slow networks (or no networks at all!) and expensive data charges. The general lowering of data charges worldwide should help matters, as will the widening of network coverage, but if you have no phone network access at all in a particular area then there's no way to download anything directly to the phone.

Tip: While in Wi-Fi or good network coverage, browse the maps for an area you're about to visit that is known to have poor network coverage, i.e. scroll around at near street level, to force Nokia Maps to download the relevant map tiles. They will then be already preloaded for when you need them.

Independent or not?

In general, the lowering of phone data charges, the widening of network coverage, the explosion in memory card capacity and the roll-out of Ovi services are all allowing S60 phones to break away from desktops and laptops. There are a few things that a PC is still needed for, but it seems likely that these will all disappear over the next few years.

As this independence sinks in, some people may even start to wonder why they've got a computer at all. This feeling may become especially common if USB accessories and high resolution TV Out become a reality, as they would allow phones to become more computer-like than ever before.

Tzer2, All About Symbian, 23 Sep 2008

Categories: Comment, Hardware
Platforms: Series 60, S60 3rd Edition

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardeep1singh The use of certificates on s60v3 ruined the game for everyone, making it necessary to have a pc nearby to sign an app before it could be installed on a phone.

You still need a PC to write the application, don't you?
I think that S60V3 phones have brought in more possibilities of functionality to smartphones compared to S60V2. True, it gets restricted by the certificates, but that not a limitation of the technology, but something that exists for security reasons. It is possible to do away with the certificate system, but then you might be making your phone more venerable.
And honestly, function-wise I cannot think of anything that existed in S60V2 phones that does not exist in S60V3 phones. Maybe certain apps are not available, but that's because the creator of that app decided not to develop and launch a V3 app. I am sure there is some other app available out there that can provide you the same functionality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered a.) Bluetooth mouse support in S60. I mean just how hard would it be? Not hard, that's what (and I say that as a software developer). The browser already draws a pointer, for starters. Bluetooth mice exist, the hardware is in place, bluetooth keyboards already talk to any application. Honestly, there is no excuse for not supporting a mouse. b.) Allow any 3rd party app to access the higher res. TV output mode - you know, the one gallery uses and RealPlayer uses when showing 640 X 480 TV output. Why oh why oh why cannot any app access this? Both of these seem to be "no comment" subjects on Forum Nokia. If these two things were enabled, you would instantly have a de facto PC in your pocket. This is a small firmware update. Why are Nokia to absolutely brilliant at bypassing all common sense on certain crucial things? It's not like they make a line of PCs whose market share they're trying to protect!

I agree, and thats what I have been saying for a long time.

It would make so much sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tzer2 Incidentally, something I forgot to add to the article: It's important to be able to use a (smart)phone without a computer partly because most people on the planet don't have access to a PC, but they probably do have access to a mobile phone and its network. Non-smart phones have spread to practically every community in every country, and smartphones may well do the same thing soon. If smartphones want to go really mainstream they will do this more quickly if they don't require the purchase of a laptop or desktop.

Not true. In my opinion, the smartphone, the notebook computer, the PC, the TV, and the entertainment system are getting more and more integrated as we expand contents to multiple devices. Contents expansion was the proliferation of the Internet to computers and it will be the new industry theme that is driving the desire for content and information to be multi-purposed and displayed on many types of devices.

Nokia should work very closely with computer manufacturers and software developers to ensure that contents and information can flow from one device to the other seemlessly.

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