In All About Symbian Insight 100 (AAS Podcast 164), we first look back at the decade just gone and consider how far we've come, before looking ahead to what will happen in the next decade. Steve brings news of an i8910 firmware update, Ovi Maps Racing and more and the teams answer questions relating to N97 Exchange support and briefly discuss what to expect at MWC You can listen to AAS Insight 100 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Last month NTT DOCOMO premiered its winter 2009 collection of mobile phones consisting of 19 different models. Among these are 9 Symbian phones, which are being featured on the Symbian blog today. Features range from a 12 megapixel camera, through separating parts and being waterproof to smell-o-phone, and more. However unless you're in Japan, you'll probably never see them. This may change in the future as both DOCOMO and the manufacturers are interested in expanding to markets outside Japan.
SEE 2009 (Symbian Exchange and Exposium) is Symbian's annual big show. In part 2 of my walkabout video you can join me on a amble around the show floor at SEE 2009. I share my impressions and analysis in an unscripted, one-take, walk and talk. Part 2 covers the remaining stands and concludes with some general thoughts on SEE 2009.
In All About Symbian Insight 93 (AAS Podcast 157) we discuss the Q3 smartphone figures from Canalys and Rafe explains that Fujitsu and Quic have joined the board of the Symbian Foundation. We move on to a retrospective of SEE 2009 with discussion of the media reaction (which send Rafe into rant mode). We finish with thoughts on N97 PR 2.0 and the closure of N-Gage (sniff). You can listen to AAS Insight 93 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
SEE 2009 (Symbian Exchange and Exposium) is Symbian's annual big show. In the video below you can join me on a walkabout around the show floor at SEE 2009. I share my impressions and analysis in an unscripted, one-take, walk and talk. As well as covering many of the Symbian related consultancy and developer tool companies there's also a quick look at the Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung stands.
Fujitsu has been appointed to the board of directors of the Symbian Foundation. As a result, Fujitsu will, as an OEM Board Member, contribute to the funding of the Symbian Foundation and take an active role in all four Symbian Foundation councils (features and roadmap, architecture, user interface and release). Fujitsu have more than 8 years of Symbian experience and have released more than 20 Symbian handsets, second only to Nokia, including the first videophone.
Yesterday the Symbian Foundation announced the release of the EKA2, together with supporting development kit, under the Eclipse Public License (EPL). This marks a major stepping stone is the process to opensource the entire Symbian platform, which the Symbian Foundation is currently undertaking. The microkernel is the heart of the operating system and comprises of a 'robust, fully multi-tasking architecture', which 'manages all system resources and frameworks necessary for the co-existence of the processes and applications that make up the complete system'.
Yes, another year has passed and the annual Symbian bash is upon us. But with a slight twist, with the Symbian Foundation now well established and with the whole ecosystem, like much of the rest of the mobile industry, definitely in something of a state of flux. SEE (Symbian Exchange and Exposition) 2009 is free to attend and easy to get to. But what's on offer this year, what should you look out for? Steve Litchfield provides a few pointers...
The Symbian Foundation today announced it is establishing a new office in Japan. The aim is to improve its support for it Japanese members (who include the operators NTT DOCOMO and Softbank Mobile and the manufacturers Sharp and Fujitsu) and bolster engagement with the developer community. The Symbian Foundation also have offices in London, San Fransisco and Helsinki.
In All About Symbian Podcast 138, Rafe talks to Lee Williams, Executive Director of the Symbian Foundation. The interview covers a wide range of topics, including the Symbian Foundation's planned application arena, the universal web runtime, the forthcoming Symbian Exchange and Exposition, Qt and the Symbian Foundation, the challenges of openness and open governance, and more.
Today the Symbian Foundation has announced two key additions to its management team: Larry Berkin, formerly a VP at ACCESS, who will head Symbian's US office and act as Head of Alliance Management and Dietmar Tallroth, formerly Director of Legal for Nokia's Open Source and Java, who will serve as Symbian's General Counsel. The Symbian Foundation continues to recruit staff as it grows towards it goal of around 200 employees by the end of 2009.
In All About Symbian Insight 72 (AAS Podcast 131) Steve, Ewan and Rafe round up an eclectic collection of news including Google Calendar Sync, Spore, recent MOAP devices, recent stats and Omnia HD availability. In the second part of the show discuss moments of change - times when we've seen a device of technology that marks a significant shift. You can listen to AAS Insight 72 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
NTT DOCOMO today announced its new handset line up for 2009. Included in the line up are Symbian (MOAP) phones from Fujitsu (F-08A and F-09A) and Sharp (SH-05A, SH-06A, SH-06A NERV and SH-07A). Features include being water proof (low end models) and 10 megapixels cameras, GPS built in digital TV receivers, world roaming (high end models).
David Wood, writing on the Symbian Foundation Blog, about reviewing the release plans, has highlighted some details of upcoming Symbian releases. Symbian^2, the equivalent of S60 5th Edition Feature Pack 1, will be functionally complete next week and in devices early next year. Symbian^3, for which the majority of the source code should be available, enhances communication architecture, multimedia and graphics functionality, and should reach devices in the second half of 2010.
Symbian ^4 will see the full integration and optimisation of Qt into the Symbian platform. Further proposals includes the 'Orbit' extension library for Qt (replacing AVKON) and a new 'Direct UI' interaction and navigation logic. Put crudely, this means we will see an evolution of the existing S60/AVKON UI to a new Qt-based 'Orbit' Symbian UI for devices coming out in 2011. Read on for more details.
Yesterday marked 'day one' of the Symbian Foundation. This announced the commencement of the beta testing of its new web site and that 81 companies have applied for membership (50 of which are first time endorsers). The new logo of the Symbian Foundation was also unveiled: Symbian, in stylised letters, underlain by a yellow heart. Read on for more.
