Symbian OS 9.5
Published by Rafe Blandford at 6:02 UTC, March 26th 2007
Today at CTIA, Symbian is announcing version 9.5 of its operating system. The new version delivers improved performance including lower memory and processor requirements, more multimedia features including support for advanced camera features, better PC connectivity, support for DVB-H and ISDB-T Mobile TV standards and improved network and connection management features. Symbian 9.5 is fully backwardly compatible with all member of the Symbian 9.x family. Read on for more.
The 9.5 release is part of the scheduled 6 monthly updates of the Symbian OS and cements Symbian OS's position as the most technical advanced mobile operating system.
Generally a Symbian OS release is found in shipping handsets about 12-16 months after it is announced.
We will bring you further details on Monday.
New Symbian OS v9.5 brings higher performance at mass market costs
CTIA Wireless, Orlando, USA and London, UK – 26 March 2007 – Symbian Ltd. today announced Symbian OS v9.5, the latest evolution of the world’s leading operating system for smartphones. Symbian OS v9.5 brings high performance features designed for richer consumer and enterprise experiences as well as significant savings to phone build costs and time to market, delivering a truly scalable operating system for the global market.
Symbian OS v9.5 is the result of continued deep collaboration with Symbian OS licensees, the world’s leading handset vendors, and its user interface platform partners including MOAP, S60 and UIQ. With high smartphone growth in developing markets and as mass market requirements from handset manufacturers continue to rise, Symbian’s addressable market is broadening across segments and regions.
Symbian OS v9.5, backward compatible with all versions of the v9 family, includes the following key enhancements:
Higher performance for lower hardware cost
Symbian OS v9.5 delivers performance improvements with reductions in requirements on memory, processor and battery, enabling smartphones based on Symbian OS v9.5 to run on the same hardware as feature phones.
Faster time to market
Symbian is continuing to improve time-to-market for handset vendors, system integrators and developers. Symbian OS v9.5 introduces new hardware adaptation interfaces for digital TV and location based services (LBS) making it cheaper and easier to bring popular services to the mass market.
Designed for richer user experiences:
Multimedia
Symbian smartphones based on Symbian OS v9.5 will support rich multimedia experiences with advanced camera features similar to standalone digital cameras with 35 new features including image orientation following tilt sensor, preset image enhancements, digital/optical zoom, auto focus spots, panorama stitch, image distortion correction auto-focus such as red-eye reduction. With improved seamless connectivity to home computers, enabling the easy transfer of music, videos and images, one smartphone can replace several devices. In addition, with support for multi-standard digital TV (DVB-H, ISDB-T) and standardised LBS, the Symbian smartphone will bring true convergence to consumers worldwide.
Enterprise
New Symbian smartphones will enable users to be more productive and save costs with Wifi-3G connection roaming. Professionals will gain the advantage of having services such as push-email and VoIP run over WiFi when in the office and automatically switch to 3G when on the move. In addition, real-time networking ensures that VoIP is not interrupted when other IP-based services, such as web browsing or push email, make a connection.
Smartphone lifestyle
With over 70% market share, Symbian continues to provide flexibility and choice to leading handset vendors who sell Symbian smartphones to over 250 network operators worldwide. The introduction of Brahmic script in Symbian OS v9.5 which extends Symbian OS support of languages to cover 99% of the world’s countries, the support for global standards including HSPDA, HSUPA and digital TV, makes Symbian the only true global mobile operating system powering both mid-range and high-end mobile phones.
Categories: Software, Industry
Platforms: General
News Discussion
FRiC
True global? If only there's an easy way to display multiple languages at the same time. S40 and S60v2 can do it, why not S60v3?
ringnokia.com
why Monday?
excuse my impatience ;-)
nj7
DVB-H again:frown: LG and gsmart do Analog TV, FREE for all, and not that DVB-H, depends from network provider:frown:
krisse
"why Monday?"
Probably because that's when Nokia are making a speech at the CTIA event in Orlando. The show starts next week.
Just looked at the guest list there, good grief! They have George Bush Senior and Bill Clinton both giving speeches on the last day! What on earth are they doing at a conference about wireless technology?
Hmm... they're giving a speech together, simultaneously, so I assume this is something to do with the kind of charity work they've done together in the past, during the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps they'll talk about the effect of wireless networks on the developing world?
Koblih
Will be in 9.5 supported TouchScreen? Can we expect any PDA-like device? 7710 Successor? TyTN opponent?
Rafe
Touch screen have been supported in Symbian since the beginning. (Or rather tha bility to have multiple input mechanisms). Devices are up to the licensee not Symbian - but I imagine there are some interesting devices on the way!
Monday is the start of CTIA - its a big US wireless conference.
DVB-H is not necessairly an operator service. The point about it being included in the OS (or rather the possibility of including it in an OS build) is about reducing time to market. If it in the OS no need to build it yourself.
krisse
"Will be in 9.5 supported TouchScreen? Can we expect any PDA-like device? 7710 Successor? TyTN opponent?"
Symbian has always supported touchscreen, Symbian UIQ phones almost all use touchscreen.
Symbian don't make any devices themselves, they just make an operating system.
Unregistered
cool stuff.. too bad you blew the whistle ahead of the news embargo.. hope Symbian ins' too pissed at you!!! PS: check the release date next time mate
Rafe
No worries there, we obviously wouldn't pre-post without permission!
Webbunny
'Symbian OS v9.5 delivers performance improvements'
Hmm... this reminds me of Steve's 'Tortoise or Hare' post a few days ago. I've got an N73, I've had a good play with a W950 that a friend has. The W950 seems much 'snappier' than my N73 at opening apps, menus etc. Which could just be that it uses a faster processor. But then I'd expect it to have shorter battery life, especially since it has 20% less battery in the first place. But my mate tells me he charges his every 3rd day if he doesn't use the MP3 player, just making calls, sending texts and a little web surfing, same as me. Which is less often than my N73 gets plugged in.
So I'm left with the conclusion that my N73 has a faster processor, but its S60 that is using up the extra speed and making it less responsive.
So for us S60 device users, I dont think we will see the work Symbian has done to speed the underlying OS up, because whatever version of S60 ends up on top of v9.5 will just bog it down again :frown:
OK, so why dont I just get a W950? Well, the input/control method is a dogs dinner, to be honest. The combo of touch screen soft keys, stylus and jog wheel makes the thing a 2 handed device only, and way way too fiddly for me. Which is a shame, because otherwise its a damn good bit of kit otherwise.
I like that S60 is designed to be used one handed (no tittering at the back). I remember trying to use a old Palm Pilot with a stylus. Couldn't do Graffiti while walking! Just the slightest shake would make the gesture shapes go all wrong. And the time I tried to use it on a train that had standing room only, and trying to get Graffiti to work AND not fall over (no spare hand to hang onto anything, you see) was like something out of Mr Bean. :tongue:
Andy.
tnleeuw
Hey WebBunny,
I believe that both the N73 and the W950 have a comparable CPU clocked just above 200MHz. The N93, N95 and E90 have a considerably faster CPU, clocked around 300MHz.
I'm surprised to hear that you find the menus on the W950 'snappy' as there are lots of complaints about the so-called 'transition effects' on the UIQ3 devices, which fade in - fade out menus and so.
I do wonder why you'd buy a Walkman phone and not use the MP3 player ;)
Anyways, I've got the P990i which is much like W950; I understand the problems of one-handed use of it. Although the P990i is a bit easier one-handed b/c of the 5-way controller on the flip it would still be very good if they could spend more time on making it easy to use the phones with only one hand.
Cheers,
--Tim :)
Webbunny
Well, my friend does use the MP3 player on the W950, you are right, it would be daft if he didn't! But this usually means it has to go on charge the moment he gets home every day.
The point was that I don't use my N73 as a music player, so when you compare like for like usage, his phone lasts longer on a charge.
thaig
The perf. improvements will help any phone if the manufacturer decides to switch them on.
The mfr can then decide to economise on the hardware rather than making the device fast. When there are millions of units, tiny savings make a lot of difference.
N95
Comment: "Will be in 9.5 supported TouchScreen? Can we expect any PDA-like device? 7710 Successor? TyTN opponent?"
Symbian has always supported touchscreen, Symbian UIQ phones almost all use touchscreen.
Symbian don't make any devices themselves, they just make an operating system
My question:
yes Symbian UIQ phones almost all use touchscreen... but symbian S60 3rd edition nokia mobile phone are ready o is able to use Touch screem?
S60 is able to can use Touch screem and is just a decision of Nokia? or the S60 need to be some update ?
will 9.5 in S60 support touch screeen? or is just choice of nokia?
thaig
Nokia's choice.
S60 is their GUI and they can do what UIQ do or not. It's up to them.
rbrunner
n95
and asking farer...:
Would be in Nseries of Nokia Touch Screen mobiles in a year or so? we can expect some of that? around a year or less to have any Nseries touch screem devices? Can be realist?
Coul be nokia thinking about?
N95
Nobody have an answer?
Can we expect any mobile phone Nseries from Nokia with Touch screen in some months? in a year or so? or nothing about that?
niuseek
Is possible that nokia will relase firmware update(for symbian 9.5) for latest phones? Features of symbian 9.5 sounds nice. Price of Nokia N95 is very expensive (£600). I wont buy new phone just for new symbian.
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