More on Symbian release plans - Qt-based Orbit UI supersedes S60 AVKON in Symbian^4
Published by Rafe Blandford at 14:32 UTC, May 1st 2009
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.
Here's a summary and brief details on each release.
Symbian^2
Symbian^2 is the first full release under the Symbian Foundation. It is the equivalent to S60 5th Edition Feature Pack 1 (S60 5.1). It is the first release for which the source code is (will be) available via the Symbian Foundation website. Some of the code is being released under EPL, although the majority is still under SFL.
In Symbian ^2 the customisable, widget-based homescreen, as seen in the N97, becomes a formal part of the platform. It will also support multiple form factors, screen resolutions (including VGA) and input methods.
Symbian^2 will be functionally complete by week 19, 2009 (next week) and will be hardened by week 51. This means it will be available in devices at the very end of the year - or early next year.
The Foundation blog notes that "Symbian^2 is particularly suitable for device manufacturers who have already been working with previous versions of Symbian OS technology. Device manufacturers who are relatively new to the Symbian world are expected to use Symbian^3 in their first commercial shipments". This means Symbian^2 will likely be used by Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson in a whole range of devices that are due in the market in 2010.
Symbian^3
Symbian^3, in many ways, is the first Symbian Foundation release that fulfills the vision of the Symbian Foundation. Most, if not all, of the code will be available under EPL. This release will see Screenplay graphics, Open acceleration and improved multi screen support.
Symbian^3 incorporates the technologies that Symbian have previously promoted as Freeway and Screenplay. These consist of a 'high performance communications architecture' (including true seamless handover between different bearers) and 'support for seamless composition of hardware-accelerated content into UI elements' (including layered graphics and much improved graphics performance) respectively.
720p HD video recording, HDMI output, textual location-tagging (GPS co-ordinates translated into country-street-city), multi-channel audio, and many other features will all become fully integrated into the platform.
It should be noted that any of these components or features can appear in earlier devices - manufacturers can add custom code and functionality. Indeed this is likely to be a common occurrence. Manufacturers may typically choose to test an addition in their own devices (and use it as a way to differentiate from their competitors) before contributing the necessary enablers to the Symbian Foundation.
Symbian^3 will be functionally complete by week 4, 2010 and will be hardened by week 26. This means is will be available in devices in the second half of next year.
Symbian^4
Symbian^4 is the first release to be defined by the community process (councils, etc.) of the Symbian Foundation. In this sense, it can be seen as the first full release to fall completely under the auspices and planning of the Symbian Foundation and its members.
It is proposed that Qt 4.6 be fully integrated into the Symbian Platform. Further, a new 'Orbit' extension library for Qt, consisting of "more than 50 widgets tailored for mobile user experience" will replace the AVKON UI layer of previous releases; along with this is 'Direct UI' interaction and logic. Together, these also mean a rewrite of the application suite to take advantage of "Qt APIs, Orbit widgets, and Direct UI". Initially this would be for touch and hybrid devices, but this will likely change in future Symbian releases.
This means we will see Symbian^4 ship with a new UI for touch-enabled and hybrid devices based on the Qt framework. The engineering effort for this will be carried out by Nokia. Clearly there will be something of a compatibility break for applications, but, at this early stage, it is too soon to assess their impact (e.g. we could see an AVKON to Orbit compatibility bridge).
Nor does it preclude another company or Symbian Foundation contributor creating an alternative application framework and UI layer (e.g for low end mobile phones or non-mobile phone devices).
Symbian ^4 will be functionally complete around the middle of 2010 and will be hardened by early 2011. This means it will be available in devices in 2011.
It is worth pointing out that Symbian^4 is still being roadmapped and specified, which means the proposals above have not been formally accepted.
Glossary
AVKON - is the technical name for the UI-specific application framework layers implemented on top of Symbian OS. Effectively it's the S60 UI.
ORBIT - is the proposed Qt extension library consisting of around 50 or so 'mobile UI widgets' that make up a UI and will supercede AVKON (S60) as the UI layer on Symbian OS.
Qt - is a cross-platform application development framework. See Qt Software.
EPL - Eclipse Public license, the source code license chosen by the Symbian Foundation for its open source.
SFL - Symbian Foundation License, an interim license being used by the Symbian Foundation for code which has not yet been open sourced.
We'll be covering all the Symbian releases in more detail in the near future.
Rafe Blandford, All About Symbian, 1 May 2009
Categories: Software, Developer, Industry, Editorial Thoughts
Platforms: General, S60 3rd Edition, UIQ 3, MOAP, S60 5th Edition
News Discussion
Also Qt development will be possible a long time before Symbian^4. A preview version is available now for S60. I would imagine Nokia will look to ship Qt (as a development language) with its Symbian^3 and Symbian^4 devices.
If anything this gives developers an incentive to look at Qt earlier than they might have otherwise done.
Secondly, lets get the OS onto as many low end devices as possible - the smartphone market in up and coming developing nations is already basically owned by Symbian and the huge growth potential is there for the taking ;-)
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
Here's hoping they stop beating around the bush, ignore Apple's daft and unenforceable patents, and sort full multitouch support on the platform.
Secondly, lets get the OS onto as many low end devices as possible - the smartphone market in up and coming developing nations is already basically owned by Symbian and the huge growth potential is there for the taking ;-) |
I am pretty sure that Nokia will ship S60 to lower end devices , so that Symbian will conquer dumbphone market :) . I also heard a rumor that Nokia might put maemo on their high end devices . Lets wait and see
Thank you very much.
"Nor does it preclude another company or Symbian Foundation contributor creating an alternative application framework and UI layer (e.g for low end mobile phones or non-mobile phone devices)."
Let me voice my opinion as a developer: Alternatives like this are devastating for third-party developers. Fragmentation is currently one of *the* curses of mobile application development, and anything that threatens to make it even bigger is most unfortunate, to say the least, IMHO.
I was really hoping that now, with the Symbian foundation, and the union of S60, UIQ and MOAP, Symbian would be able to make a decisive break from its UI and framework mess of the past.
Of course an open-source Symbian more or less precludes nothing, by design, but the foundation could do developers a very big favor by evangelizing vocally and visually *against* such fragmentation attempts.
Just a short while ago the whole UIQ ecosystem went down the drain, in the interest of a unified Symbian from the foundation, and now there is already talk again that there might be *new* variants, UI's, flavors and frameworks on top of Symbian? You are just joking, right?
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Originally Posted by John D. Doe
@BHY: Idou will use Symbian^1
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Do they..? The current S60 UI (and probably ^1 and ^2 too) is quite horrible and very slow compared to it's rivals and I don't see much hope for ^3 either. Both from user's and developer's perspective. They are promising major improvements in ^3 but isn't it already too late if the ^4 with all-new Qt-based UI (with different API) is coming only 6 months later?
I pretty much agree with everything rbrunner said.. I would place my bet for ^4, but 2 years is a loooong time in this industry.. In mean time, Nokia & co will have a lot of difficulties keeping S60 even near on the same level as it's rivals. Not in set of features, but in providing modern, attractive, good looking, and usable UI that could compete with Android and iPhone devices.
I can't agree with the fact that S60 is slow. Just look how 5800 is running with v21 and on the old 390mhz proc. Try that with WM example or look at Omnia HD with it's OMAP3 platform and 600mhz processor.
All that said i totally agree that they have wasted too much time. I would say they would be ok if Symbian^3 would be out in the end of this year with the screenplay and all that that was supposed to be already in Symbian v9.5(announced back in 2007). Symbian^4 looks promising, but there's long way till that. Thought Symbian got pretty good shield because of SE, Samsung and Nokia making Symbian Foundation it's OS. Phones like Idou will keep Symbian on it's current place if not better IMO before Symbian^3 and Symbian^4.
Plus we will if it's true that Maemo is going to be Nokias hihg end OS in the future and Symbian mid and low end like Mobile-Reviews Eldar said.
about this piece of news, which honestly i have read tooo late, i think it is going to be amazing.
2 years is a long time, to be sure, but at least they have a concrete plan. if they act on this, Symbian should hold the market share for quite some time now