Anyone who’s used an N-Series mobile phone will have used an interface called Series 60 (or just S60, if you’re lazy), which is what Nokia’s smartphones (mobile phones like the Nokia N95 8Gb) are built on, and which is itself built on an operating system called Symbian. You’ve probably heard me mention Symbian, as it’s what Sony Ericsson’s smartphones (like my P1) are also based on (in the form of UIQ).
The big news is that Nokia have splashed out the cash and completely, 100% bought out Symbian. So, all mobile phones with Symbian in them will be Nokias from now on??
Well, actually, no. It’s bigger than that. This really is something that will have MASSIVE repercussions throughout the entire mobile spectrum. Nokia bought Symbian, and then donated the whole lot to the Symbian Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose sole aim is to make Symbian into a completely open-source, and free (to the Foundation’s members, anyway) operating system.
But it won’t JUST be built on S60, because Sony Ericsson are chucking UIQ into the mix, and DoCoMo (big in Japan…) are throwing their version of Symbian, MOAP-S, into the equation, too. So, in essence, what we’re getting is going to be a standardised, hyper-advanced operating system for mobile phones, that’s completely open source, get the massive levels of software compatibility that S60 has, along with UIQ’s touch-based loveliness, and MOAP-S’s super-advanced-ness. And because of its different heritages, it should work just as well on keypad OR touchscreen-based mobile phones. The cynical amongst us will say that Nokia have only done it because they can’t get S60 Touch right, and want UIQ…
The thoughtful among us think they should just call the whole project ‘Operation Shaft-Google’.
Why is this news important, then? Think about it. A whole brand new operating system, that’s built on the back of the best operating systems that are in use by 3 massive companies, standardised to allow developers a massive foothold into the huge Symbian mobile phones marketplace (remember, 77 MILLION Symbian mobile phones sold last year…)
But wait it’s even bigger than that, too. Take a look at the list of companies who’ve signed up to be part of the Symbian Foundation (and this isn’t even the full list!):
Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, AT&T, ST Microelectronics, Texas Instruments, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, EA Mobile, Fujitsu…
That’s… that’s basically EVERYONE!
If you’re still wondering why it’s massive news: what is being set up here is a whole new breed of mobile phones.
What is about to evolve is a single, optimised operating system, that is built on 3 proven-to-be-stunningly-powerful ones, that is backwards compatible with the most popular operating system in today’s world of mobile phones. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Nokia’s Series 60-based mobile phones dominate the world, so any operating system that is compatible with their applications, user base, and developer base, has a massive leg-up over the competition. And it’s open source, so any manufacturer can fiddle about with it, to make it perfect for their mobile phones. And it’s totally free, once the company is in the Symbian Foundation, meaning they don’t have to pay crippling licence fees.
Or, in other words, Google and Apple should be cacking themselves about now, as the big boys have just declared war!
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