Symbian has made available the first draft of the overall top level specification which will make up Symbian^2 ('Symbian Two'😉. There are several points of interest to pick out, notably the processor support, FAT (file system) performance improvements, the 'Graphics' support, the integrated SQLite and the fact that screen size is still fixed at 5800/N97 level. Nothing earth shattering then, but still nice to see Symbian being so open about everything.
Read on in the full article.
Doesn't look like it adds much. If Nokia still does anymore symbian phones, they might stick to their current version and just go direct to symbian^3/4
as a nokia user i am totally confused with what i should be waiting for and what to expect coming from nokia in the high end space in the near future. what the hell will maemo be used for vs what will symbian^4 be used for? and when will this happen? it seems like out of nowhere, suddenly a n900 maemo comes out. what the hell!?
what will nokia use in their high end devices, maemo or symbian^4? and why will they use this one or that? what should i be expecting in the way of devices in the near future regarding these two operating systems? anyone else just feel like this is nothing but a mess, and a poorly communicated one at that? couldn't nokia at least make a solid public announcement about their roadmap? all i have heard is symbian foundation this and that, coming in 2011. and next thing i know a high end maemo device is coming before end of year 2009?
now you may think i am complaining about a GOOD thing, which is goodbye to s60v5 and hello to something better. but i'm keeping my money in my wallet and sticking with my 5800 for a good long while until all the "gotcha" surprises shake out. or until i see a clear vision of what the hell is going on. man what a long a pointless rant, huh?
what the hell will maemo be used for vs what will symbian^4 be used for?
No one outside Nokia knows for sure, but it's likely that Maemo will be on the highest end devices while Symbian will be on the mid-range (and maybe low-end?) stuff.
There are two markets we're talking about here:
-People who want a pocket computer that does phone calls too
-People who want a mobile phone that has computing features
Maemo would be for the first kind of person, with a focus on computing and raw hardware power, while Symbian would be for the second kind of person with the focus on making something that works well as a phone. That makes sense, Maemo's development has mostly been on computer-like devices while Symbian's development has mostly been on phone-like devices.
The 5800 is a typical example of this second type, it's low price and narrow enough to be used with one hand while texting or answering calls. I think that's what the future holds for Symbian, mid-range devices that are smartphones rather than pocket computers.
Also, AFAIK Symbian devices are a lot cheaper to manufacture than Maemo devices, so Symbian could be used to cover the mid-range market (and low-end too?) while Maemo would cover the high-end.
Tzer2 wrote:The 5800 is a typical example of this second type, it's low price and narrow enough to be used with one hand while texting or answering calls. I think that's what the future holds for Symbian, mid-range devices that are smartphones rather than pocket computers.
Agree mostly except for the definitions. What is there about a 5800 that disqualifies it from being a pocket computer? I can code my own application, load it and run it concurrently with other applications. If I put PyS60 on I can code on the device itself even. If you disqualify a 5800 from computer status then you disqualify the Toshiba laptop I am typing this on.
Granted most users won't be doing all this but that fact doesn't make the device any less capable.
"as a nokia user i am totally confused with what i should be waiting for and what to expect coming from nokia in the high end space in the near future. what the hell will maemo be used for vs what will symbian^4 be used for? and when will this happen? it seems like out of nowhere, suddenly a n900 maemo comes out. what the hell!?
what will nokia use in their high end devices, maemo or symbian^4? and why will they use this one or that? what should i be expecting in the way of devices in the near future regarding these two operating systems? anyone else just feel like this is nothing but a mess, and a poorly communicated one at that? couldn't nokia at least make a solid public announcement about their roadmap? all i have heard is symbian foundation this and that, coming in 2011. and next thing i know a high end maemo device is coming before end of year 2009?"
Uhmmm.. Maybe wait until Nokia actually announces the N900?
If the headline story at mobilechoiceuk.com is to be believed, it would seem that Joe Public is not the only one confused with the future strategy of Symbian.
Samsung are reported to have ceased any further development of the M8000 which I am guessing was to be the successor to the Omnia HD.
Would be interesting to here some comment back on this one guys as I'd never heard of the M8000 before this. Let's not just sweep this under the carpet eh?.
Screen size fixed? at 640*xxx? Why is that my E90 has a bigger screen!
Why are the fixing screen sizes for an os?? Thats really beyond me. They shouldnt never never do that and always teach developers up front that the screen sizes may vary and that they should use layout manager for that to handle them. (that besides the fact that screens also can be in 2 modes landscape and portrait)
But i already decided that my next phone will be the N900, at least how it looks now..
(or maybe an android phone with the same specs as the N900)