The cross-platfom application framework, QT, is now available for S60 devices. It's still early days, thus being called a Technology Preview, but anyone with an S60 v3 feature pack 1 device can install the framework – just follow this video after downloading the code. And let us know how you get on with the wealth of Qt powered applications out there already.
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So, can anyone give an example of a worthwile Qt-application?
KDE and anything related? Lots of useful stuff to port there. I wonder when Gnome will be released for Nokias ;^)
Google Earth is written in Qt.
1)Is there a simple way to get this installed on a device without mucking about with carbide?
2) Are applications going to have to be rewritten to work on the S60 flavour of QT or should most "just work" ?
I would not be suprised if the new touchinterface of the 5800 relies heavily on QT.
I would be suprised if it did.
For a start, this is a technical demo whereas the 5800 is already out in a couple of countries.
Secondly, it would probably be a BC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_code_compatibility) break.
There are several important Qt applications out there, both commercial (Skype, some of Adobe's products and more - look at the Trolltech/Qt Software website for the full list of publicly announced ones) and open source (KDE as mentioned and pretty much all of the apps that run there).
I think the chances of Nokia dumping Symbian in favour of Linux with Qt are slim to none in the medium term. Symbian is a much better OS for smartphones than Linux for many reasons. However, dumping the S60 UI (Avkon) in favour of Qt seems much more likely. I think the S60 brand will stay because Nokia have invested quite a lot in it, but the UI framework will just get deprecated over time and applications will be replaced with new shiny cross-platform Qt versions.
Trolltech...sounds like a company for vapourware ;P
Symbian has reached it's dead end. It's too crappy to compete with Android, iPhone or whatever. Nokia always struggles developing this crap for each and every feature. So I read announce they're looking on Linux as a replacement for top smart phones. They already have Maemo platform on internet tablets and it much more suitable for top smart phones than Symbian stuff. And surely there will be Qt. And GTK. This is quite decent platform for high-end smart phones.
Nokia is going to opensource Symbian but I bet this will not help it too much. There is no huge community to develop it (due to closed nature of this system before) so it changes almost nothing. It may prolong agony but for high-end phones Symbian just not a serious choice and if Nokia will not replace it - they will lose market since it can't compete on par with iPhone, Android and others. Looks like they already figured this out.