Skip to main content

All About Symbian


Symbian is a mobile operating system owned and maintained by Nokia. It was originally owned by Symbian Ltd. and Nokia took over the company in the year 2008. Programmed in C++, Symbian has received lots of revisions and improved versions in the past few years. 

Nokia has come up with 4 versions of Symbian, after it acquired Symbian Ltd. The journey from Symbian 1 to Symbian Anna has seen a remarkable improvement. So, what are the basic differences and enhancements introduced in these versions?

Symbian^1 - It’s the incorporation of Symbian OS and S60 platform (5th edition).
Symbian^2 – The first royalty free open source version of Symbian, it was adopted by DoCoMo and Sharp for their smartphones in the year 2010.
Symbian^3 – Released in 2010, Symbian^3 is also known as the next generation smartphones OS.

Evolution from Symbian^1 to Symbian^3

  • While Symbian^1 had only one customizable home screen, Symbian^3 made it possible for the user to have 3 customizable home screens.
  • Symbian^1 supported Wi-Fi b/g versions and Symbian^3 came with Wi-Fi b/g/n versions.
  • Symbian^1 devices support Flash Lite 3.1 and the one with Symbian^3 have Flash Lite 4
  • Symbian^3 also made it possible for the phone to support HDMI video playback via an external connector. 2D & 3D features and an improved UI are other USP’s of Symbian^3.   
 Nokia N8, C7-00, C6-01 are a few Nokia phones with Symbian^3.

The New Anna from Symbian

Symbian Anna is the freshest OS by Symbian, released in April 2011. While the Symbian^3 and earlier phones have WebKit based browser, Symbian Anna has a new browser with an improved speed. The Symbian Anna device will also have a virtual QWERTY keypad in portrait orientation, up to 5 customizable home screens, and real-time home screen scrolling. 

Nokia X7-00 and E6-00 are the two Symbian Anna phones introduced by Nokia.

The Global Market Share

The OS giant, Symbian has seen decline in the market share due to the increased popularity of Android phones. Ranking second, Symbian acquires 31% of market share whereas Android stands tall & confident with 33%. Apple scores third rank with 16% and RIM’s share has dropped to 14%. Windows Mobile acquires 3% stake in market.

Why Not Symbian?

While Symbian is still more favored OS in countries like India, European nations are turning to Android and Apple phones. There are a few disadvantages with Symbian phones, which are making gadget geeks disappointed.

Android being an open source software allows you to download a gamut of free apps as well as develop third party apps for Android users.

One major drawback is non-upgradable nature of Symbian phones. Well, Nokia has now announced that N8 and a few more handsets can be upgraded to Symbian Anna, but that’s not enough. What about the non-upgradable phones? You won’t be left with an option other than buying a new phone.

It is also said that Symbian phones will require a minimum of 70MB RAM and 369MHz processor speed to deliver an optimal performance, which is again a loop hole.

If you are an apps freak and just can’t resist yourself from downloading the latest of games, wallpapers or utility apps, Symbian is definitely not your phone. There are hundreds of Android apps being made and uploaded everyday in the Android Market for application lovers.

Going by stats, flaws, and trend, is it right to say that Symbian share will further drop in the coming quarter. Will Symbian Anna support Nokia in rising from the fall again or it’s high time that Nokia should switch to Android? Will too much of Android invite saturation point in the market?

Source - http://www.saholic.com/

Comments

  1. SaraSeptember 28, 2011 at 1:30 AM

    Outstanding explanation of Symbian, am a programmer. really appreciate your knowledge!!
    Free Software Download

    ReplyDelete
  2. AminJanuary 4, 2012 at 4:54 AM

    Really nice explanation! Thanx for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple iPhone 5 Features – What’s in Store for US?

Apple products have always managed to create a buzz worldwide months before they are introduced in market. The release of iPhone 4S was much of a surprise for Apple fanatics, who had their eyes set on the iPhone 5. Apple is mum about the features of its yet-to-be-released smartphone, the iPhone 5. There are rumors about the look & unique features that new Apple phone would come with, but no surety of course. Numerous predictions have been made about the iPhone 5 and after conducting a thorough research & facts check, we have made a list of possible features that iPhone 5 might come with. So, here we go: Screen Size –   Rumors are there that the new iPhone might come with 4.3 inch screen. Since Apple is not so fond of big screens and has stuck with 3.5 inch display, there are more chances of a 4 inch device to be introduced.   Another issue is the screen resolution. If Apple prefers to stick with 3.5 inch display, the resolution will be same 960x640 pixels Retina displ
5 comments
Read more

What is Your Dream Cellphone Like?

Cellphones have become an integral part of our life. We need our phone when we leave for office, go on a vacation, and even in our bathroom. Technology has evolved and so have the features in our mobile phones. There was a time when mobile phones were only used for making/ receiving calls, that too at high tariffs. We can now send SMS/MMS, browse Internet, watch movies, play music, and even monitor our heart beats through the cellphone. “We always desire for more” and of course, “necessity is the mother of invention”. There are lot many features and apps, we are craving for our cellphones to come with. A very good friend of mine asked what all things I would love to have in my mobile phone and my wish list was pretty long. Here are a few of my demands that I would want to share with everyone:   I have a problem with thickness of the phone Yess, we all love slim bodies. No doubt about it. I want my phone to be extremely sleek. Have heard that Sam
2 comments
Read more

Nokia Windows Mango 7.5 Phone Review - The Good & The Bad Things

When everybody was expecting Nokia to finally adapt to Android OS, the Finnish cellphone manufacturer decided to count upon Microsoft for improving its market presence. It was 6 months back, Nokia officially announced that its new phone will be running on Windows. And the company has recently launched two Windows phones, Lumia 800 and 710 in market. Running on OS 7.5 Mango, both the phones have received a mixed response in market. Now, the next big question is, will Nokia be able to re-establish itself in the market with Windows mobile? Microsoft’s Philosophy Microsoft doesn’t believe in post PC World. The software giant has always tried to keep the products in its very own ecosystem. This is quite apparent when we see that most of the Microsoft’s software are compatible with most PCs. Recently, Microsoft has disappointed consumers by announcing that there would be no tablet edition of Windows 7. The next version of Windows, i.e. Windows 8 will ru
2 comments
Read more

“To Be Rolled-Out Soon”: By Sony Ericsson

Seems Sony Ericsson has decided to be in news in the last quarter of the year 2011. The company will soon be rolling out a series of low and high end mobile phones in market. Their expected launch date hasn’t been revealed yet, but I can see the “coming soon” tag on these cellphones on Sony Ericsson’s website. Here’s a quick peek: Sony Ericsson Txt Sony Ericsson rarely comes up with QWERTY phones and Txt is the newest addition in the series. The phone has Wi-Fi, USB, GPRS, and EDGE connectivity but what it lacks in is 3G. It has a 2.5 inch scratch resistant TFT-LCD screen with 256K color display. The phone has 3.2 megapixel camera and will be available in attractive colors – Black, Pink, White, Blue. Popular social networking apps like Facebook and Twitter are supported by the Sony Ericsson Txt. The Good Things: Separated keys on the keypad for fast and easy typing Optical trackpad for smooth navigation Ofcourse, Wi-Fi connectivity 32GB expans
2 comments
Read more