Symbian^4 means bad news for developers, amazing news for users

By on Aug 5, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Software August 5, 2009

Well, at least the significance of the Symbian Duck’s giant robotic feet is clear now — they’re going to walk all over developers! Oh come on. We kid… We kid… Truth be told, there’s no one as happy as we are to learn that Symbian^4 will finally break app compatibility. This obvious-turned-revelatory tidbit was covered in a recent interview with Symbian Foundation Catalyst and Futurist David Wood where he discusses the death of Avkon and the birth of Qt where UI elements are concerned. While we’re insanely pro-developer here at BGR, we must be clear in stating that this is awesome, awesome news. Why? Because it confirms what we already knew and what we’ve been dreaming about for what seems like an eternity — Symbian will actually find itself wrapped in a (hopefully) fresh new UI sometime in the not-so-distant future. Think late 2010ish/early 2011ish where consumers are concerned. As for what this means to developers, yes there will be some work involved in order to update the current crop of apps. That is most definitely not a bad thing, however. Come on guys, S60 3rd launched in what, 1924? We’ve been compatible for long enough. It’s time to freshen things up a bit and get rid of that stagnant look that should have been updated long ago. If that means a little more work for devs, we hope they embrace it with open arms.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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  • http://www.symbian-freak.com christexaport

    @ Doom or Boom for Symbian?,
    You asked some very pressing questions. It’s a tenuous situation, and they aren’t guaranteed success by any means.

    I don’t think that breaking the backward compatibility with S^4 places Nokia or Symbian in a comfortable position at the top. They’ll still need to be vigilant in business and maintain they’re expertise in hardware. But the involved parties (Symbian associate The Astonishing Tribe, for instance, who created the G1 UI if I’m not mistaken, has had influence in Nokia’s UI decisions) and the leveraged UI technology (Qt)are obvious strong points and major advantages. It isn’t acknowledged, but most of the UI stuff from the iPhone was refinement on past Nokia ideas. Nokia has the research and development data to come up with a powerful UI.

    It WON’T put them at the bottom of the pile because they are the only ones with a large bloc of loyal users and fanboys that will support the company. They had 70% of the market at one time, and now Symbian has 50% of the market, with Nokia holding 40% on its own. No one has stepped forward with a feature complete device with a great UI, and that is what users will expect. IF the UI turns out well, there will be little bad to say about the 5th most recognizable brand in the world at that point, and the customers will return in droves. If they gain back half that they lost, they’ll have 60% of the market. Pretty strong for the sake of position, don’t you think?

    Apps will be an issue, but code will be available way ahead of time, and will have easy to use tools to get them out of the door. The main attractant is brand recognition, app delivery channels to multiple stores via the Foundation’s help, and global reach, something few others will have except Samsung and LG, also Symbian Foundation members.

    While Qt will revamp the UI, the core OS will remain similar, with only a refinement to the code to make it easier to make apps for.
    Developers will be upset, but they haven’t seen any code yet. This is almost like with S60 3rd Edition

  • Jonathan

    Yes! A new UI, I loved the S60 3rd edition before, but it was getting old. One of the reasons I did not get the N97. Nokia has some catching up, they better take too long or competition will catch up.

  • Jouten

    You’ve never apparently owned any Samsung cellphones. If it were ol’ Sammy. Try NEVER for an update.

    Eric Said:

    2010-2011… hahaha, you will be lucky to have Qt on a physical device by the end of 2010. Seeing how long Nokia takes to release new firmware, who knows how long before developers are willing to take the plunge.

  • Jonathan

    Yep, owned a Samsung Cell phone, hmmmm….9 years ago. Then went Symbian for 6yrs. and now, believe or not, an Iphone 3gs. Wow, this really puts pressure on Nokia to come out with this UI before Apple, Palm, Android and even RIM comes out with updated OSs. Next summer should be interesting especially with Apple or Nokia coming out with something new. I’ll go with whoever suits my fancy regardless of brand. Looking forward for OLED capacitive touchscreens and HD.

  • http://www.symbian-freak.com christexaport

    @ El Bastardo, first of all, hi hater! But on a serious note, I mentioned the few well-known and internationally respected bloggers because they are AMERICAN, and while Rafe is one of the best, the numbers you state are entirely inaccurate and fabricated. The Symbian community is very close, and we all work together, and we all have good relationships with that community. We’re members of each others’ community. Most of our readers aren’t from the US, but many are.

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