Symbian Foundation OS release schedules published

5 major versions? This will lead to some interesting pentagrams 😉 The question is? Can such a pentagram contain the evil of the fingertouch enabled Windows Mobile 6.5 deamons?

What updates can I expect to be able to retrofit onto my device?

If I buy a 5800 now, will I be able to update it to S^2? There still seem to be a few loose ends in S60/5th, and I would hate to plonk my money on it just to see it rendered obsolete in six months. And it looks as though Feature Pack 1 will introduce Qt, which I think is going to be huge.

Has it been generally possible to get feature pack updates for existing hardware? If not, do you think this might change now that S60 is becoming free software?

5 active versions is nothing new for Symbian - it's the reality of supporting many licensees on their own platforms built with the OS. I wouldn't worry about the complexity, these guys are used to it.

You would be amazed what engineering rigour is required in a company to deal with licensees in the way that Symbian has managed consistently for the last 10 years.

Agree with the previous post - I cannot see how Symbian can deliver the clarity of purpose and solid roadmap that it has so consistently done if it doesn't adopt this phased approach - its not easy to achieve but I think this approach is spot on.
Justen

Unregistered wrote:What updates can I expect to be able to retrofit onto my device?

It is entirely up to the device manufacturer whether they use the new versions or not.

And it is also up to the device manufacturer whether they generate a new firmware version and whether that new firmware version keeps on using the original Symbian version or if they update to a newer one.

The fact that Symbian and S60 becomes open source software does not change the above.

The fact that the Symbian/S60 software is more easily accessible by almost any developer and even users, does not mean that any developer or user will be able to make their own firmware for any device, and update the devices with whatever firmware features they like.

Open source Symbian/S60 will probably make it much easier to create applications that were not possible or more difficult to do before, but the actual device firmware is still managed by the device manufacturers.

If the device manufacturers also change their practices for free-to-all firmware generation and updating, then it is up to each one of them separately. Just do not assume that all of them will do so, because the OS is available via an open source license. Phones are computers, but they are not PCs.

This is how things are done guys.. You'll always have people working on the Xth generation of software. This is how windows is done, this is how windows mobile is done, OSX, linux etc. This is due to the complexity of the software and will always be like this! Also this is how engineers makes the GPU or CPU cores - always in waves working on several generations of the product..

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It is entirely up to the device manufacturer whether they use the new versions or not.

And it is also up to the device manufacturer whether they generate a new firmware version and whether that new firmware version keeps on using the original Symbian version or if they update to a newer one.

The fact that Symbian and S60 becomes open source software does not change the above.
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Well, this makes Symbian a lot less compelling than the iPhone, which Apple has periodically updated since it came out. We'll see about Android devices, but even if vendors or telcos don't push the upgrades, once the devices are unlocked my experience tells me that some users will build improved images as times goes by.

I'm very tempted to get a 5800, but I'm afraid of being left in the cold with a buggy and incomplete dot-zero O/S. Maybe I should better wait for FP1. Or FP2?

Nokia has a habit of devoting firmware upgrade resources to the phones that sell best.

The classic example is the N95 which sold by the bucket load has received more firmware updates than any other Nokia phone I can think if.

The 5800 has sold extremely well (exceeding Nokias' expectations I suspect) so should be well supported with new firmware from that perspective.

The fly in the ointment would be if Nokia were to deliberately starve the 5800 of resources to try to push people to buy the N97 instead. I think that's a little unlikely though.
Plus these's no guarantee that Nokia will ever release another as well specced and priced touch screen phone.

touch is only an interim step; voice is the real frontier. what could be more convenient than just telling the phone what to do. the less you have to look at the phone and touch things, the better.

Based on what has happened in the past...

Don't expect newer feature packs to be available for phones released on previous feature packs. Nokia has never done this before. I doubt they will in future.

That does not mean that there will not be any significant updates for the 5800. Nokia have released quite significant updates for existing phones for quite a long time after they are released. Not dissimilar to what you would have with the iPhone, except with the iPhone the fixes are much bigger simply because it is a new product with alot of holes to plug.

Keep in mind that part of the reason apple are offering updates is simply because the phone is essentially the same as the 3G version, they don't want to shoot themselves in the foot by instantly pissing off the existing buyers and they don't really want to make things hard for themselves by fragementing there own market already.

Zuber

Well, this makes Symbian a lot less compelling than the iPhone, which Apple has periodically updated since it came out.

You're totally missing the point.

Symbian phone manufacturers could update the firmware every day if they wanted to, there's nothing to stop them doing that. The point is that it would be the manufacturer's decision, and nothing to do with the Symbian Foundation.

Symbian = operating system, not hardware

iPhone = hardware, not operating system

The reason the iPhone's firmware has been periodically updated is nothing to do with OS X. Apple could be running any operating system on the iPhone and it would still be entirely Apple's decision about how often they update the firmware.

All that N/A is saying is that the Symbian Foundation has no control how its operating system is used by manufacturers. Indeed that's the whole point of open source software, to allow others freedom to use software in the way they see fit.

Apple use open source too, their Safari browser uses the open source browser core WebKit, but that doesn't mean that Apple has to update the iPhone or update Safari whenever a new version of WebKit appears.

touch is only an interim step; voice is the real frontier. what could be more convenient than just telling the phone what to do. the less you have to look at the phone and touch things, the better.

I can see a niche for voice, but IMHO it will never become mainstream.

Next time you're on your local bus watch how many people are fiddling with their phones doing texts, surfing the web etc. Imagine all of those people saying out loud what they want their phone to do, or (even worse) saying out loud what their text message should contain. 😊

The fly in the ointment would be if Nokia were to deliberately starve the 5800 of resources to try to push people to buy the N97 instead.

The N97 really isn't an alternative to the 5800, they're totally different phones in terms of who they're aimed at. The only thing they have in common is the OS version, but in the real world most people base their decisions mainly on price.

The 5800 costs half the price of the N97. If the 5800 was "starved of resources", people would see things like Samsung etc touchscreen devices in the 300 euro range as viable alternatives, even if they were non-smart.