Symbian today announced that over 10 million mobile Symbian OS powered phones have shipped in Japan as of the end of May 2006. Since 2003 (FOMA F2051) 35 different models from 6 handsets vendors (Fujitsu, Mitsubuishi, Sharp, Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson) have been brought to the market. Sales on Symbian phones in Japan represent about 11% of Symbian's total shipments of 89 million phones.
Symbian OS 9.3 has been announced, whose highlights include shorter start up times, better performance, native support for Wi-Fi, PushToTalk and USB 2.0 (previously these were added in by licensees) and FOTA (Firmware Over The Air) upgrades. Symbian OS 9.3 is likely to be used in S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. The first OS 9.3 phones will be announced shortly. The full press release follows.
Although compiled in the USA and with a natural bias, this M:Metrics survey makes interesting reading. Highlights include smartphone penetration in the UK being 6.6%, S60 smartphones topping smartphone sales in Europe (no surprise there) and that around half of all N70 owners go online for content.
There is more to good photos than megapixels, you have to consider camera component quality and custom firmware too. Steve's been testing various smartphone cameras and in this feature he compares the photos produced by the Nokia N70, N80 and N90, along with the i-Mate K-Jam.
Yes, yes, this is a bit off the wall, but it's been a slow news day and what with summer well and truly here... At the end of one of her blog posts, AAS's very own Darla revealed how she keeps her smartphone free of sand and water at the beach... and for nearly free. Great idea, Darla!
Very much for anyone planning to develop applications or Flash Lite content for Symbian OS 9 devices, Symbian have released a new paper documenting all the changes in the SIS installation file format and their implications.
NTT DoCoMo have announced a number of new Symbian powered handsets. Most notable among these is the Enterprise focused D702iBCL (manufactured by Mitsubishi). Unlike other FOMA MOAP the phone does not have a camera and is only available in one colour. The usual MOAP / FOMA features are present such as support for iChannels and FlashCast. Read on for more.
For those that like to browse for news, directions and info while mobile, note that I've done a big 2006 update on my 3-Lib Web guide. As usual, bookmark the guide in your smartphone browser and make it your starting point when surfing and you'll keep those GPRS bills at bay....
Here is the AAS Week in Review. Recognising that it's easy to miss a few days and fall behind with what's new on All About Symbian, we do a weekly round-up of new content and news on the site in the last 7 or so days. If you're really pushed for time, this is the weekly list of articles and links to check out.
The web site of Symbian's annual Smartphone Show is now more or less fully online. It's the 17th-18th October, of course, with the AllAboutSymbian meet on the evening of the 16th. New to the Show this year are extra developer sessions and admission to all for the main CEO keynote sessions - perhaps in an attempt to liven up what was quite a staid spectacle last year. The main floor is also extended, so there's more to see.
Steve shows how easy it is to publish your thoughts to the world with this 'How to' on blogging from your smartphone, using nothing more than the built-in Contacts and Messaging applications.
