Symbian platform

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Symbian platform
Symbian Foundation Logo.svg
developer Nokia
License (s) Nokia Symbian License
Current  version Nokia Belle Feature Pack 2 (Symbian ^ 3) (3rd quarter 2012)
ancestry EPOC
⌊ Symbian
Architecture (s) ARM (can also be emulated on x86 )
Languages) multilingual
symbian.nokia.com

The Symbian platform , also known as Symbian OS or Symbian for short [ ˈsɪmbɪən ], is an operating system ( OS from the English Operating System ) for smartphones and PDAs . The predecessor is the non-open source EPOC . Support from Nokia was completely discontinued at the end of 2012.

The Symbian mobile OS has its origins in Psion's 32-bit EPOC platform ; this was used and further developed in a consortium founded in 1998 called Symbian by the mobile communications companies Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Psion. Later, other companies such as B. Samsung the operating system for their cell phones. Symbian Ltd. was completely taken over by Nokia ten years later and gradually transferred to a non-profit organization, the Symbian Foundation . Nokia acquired all rights in December 2008 and transferred them to the Symbian Foundation. In February 2010, Symbian declared this to be an open source solution. For almost a year, the foundation took care of the development of the operating system as well as the collaboration between open source developers and internal Symbian developers. On December 17, 2010, the Symbian Foundation announced that the source code of the Symbian platform would no longer be made available for free download. The Symbian code has been available again since April 1, 2011 and is under a separate license called Symbian License , which is largely incompatible with open source licenses.

Symbian has a lot in common with PC operating systems . B. preemptive multitasking , multithreading and memory protection . In addition to programs in C ++ , Java and Flash Lite, OPL or Python can also be used on the devices. Support for relational databases in the implementation of SQLite is also offered.

history

On June 24th, 2008 Nokia, Sony Ericsson , Motorola and NTT DoCoMo announced the intention to combine Symbian OS, S60 , UIQ and MOAP (S) into a single open platform. Together with AT&T , LG Electronics , Samsung Electronics , STMicroelectronics , Texas Instruments and Vodafone D2 , they founded the Symbian Foundation to strengthen the attraction of this combined software platform. Membership of this non-profit foundation was open to all organizations for an annual fee. The source code was published completely as open source .

At the beginning only Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson relied on this platform from the big manufacturers . Cell phones with Symbian OS from Arima, BenQ , Lenovo , Panasonic, Samsung , LG, Motorola and Sendo followed later . The first mobile phone with Symbian OS was the Nokia 9210 Communicator , at that time with version 6.0. The Motorola A920 was the first Symbian OS mobile phone for UMTS networks.

In September 2010, both Samsung and Sony Ericsson announced that they would forego Symbian in future smartphones.

In November 2010, Nokia and the Symbian Foundation announced after Sony Ericsson and Samsung left the Foundation that the administration and development of the platform would be entirely with Nokia from April 2011 onwards. From then on, the Symbian Foundation will only take over the licensing of the platform.

As early as February 2011, however, the crisis-ridden Nokia group announced that it intends to equip its smartphones with the Windows Phone 7 operating system from Microsoft in the future. After this step, there were already signs that Symbian would play a significantly smaller role on the smartphone market than previously assumed.

In January 2013 Nokia announced that it would no longer manufacture cell phones with Symbian.

Technology and versions

Symbian v9.2 operating system on the Nokia E90 smartphone
Symbian v9.1 on Nokia E61

User interfaces

In contrast to the earlier Symbian OS, which required an additional user interface (UI) (either S60 , UIQ or MOAP (s)), the Symbian platform includes a UI component. Originally, this component was supposed to be based on the Qt-based Orbit user interface as of the Symbian ^ 4 version . After Nokia announced in October 2010, the changes will be developed directly in Qt; Orbit will no longer be used.

Before 2008, Nokia saw touchscreens as too expensive and vulnerable and until then mainly relied on interfaces with keyboard operation. Since 2008 there have been smartphones based on the Symbian S60 v5 and operated via touchscreen (e.g. Nokia N97 , Nokia 5800 Xpress Music , Samsung i8910 HD and the Sony Ericsson Satio ). At the end of 2010, the first touchscreen devices appeared with the completely open source Symbian ^ 3 platform (including Nokia N8 ), on which a further developed form of the S60 is used for the last time for touchscreens.

safety

Due to the widespread use of Symbian OS, Symbian was also targeted by virus programmers . Mobile malware , although like "Skulls" or "ComWarrior" have only a fairly small damage potential, but the manufacturers seemed antivirus programs like F-Secure and Kaspersky Lab increasingly here an interesting market to have seen.

The implementation of a certificate system in Symbian OS version 9.x or higher has considerably restricted the execution of unwanted code. Programs can no longer be installed without a valid SymbianSigned certificate, as each installation package must be digitally signed. This means that cracked or virus-infected software can no longer be installed directly on the mobile device. This has put a stop to the possible spread of viruses and the operation of virus protection programs on the relevant devices is uninteresting.

The "Curse of Silence" showed a weak point in the entire Symbian OS (except for Symbian v9.3). A buffer overflow could be generated by simply or multiple sending an SMS as an e-mail with a certain long sender. This made it impossible to receive messages. The user of the mobile phone does not notice receipt of this message.

Version history (from 2008)

Symbian ^ 1 , the first version, is the basis of the platform and as such is not an actual publication by the Symbian Foundation. This version includes the "old" Symbian OS and S60 5th Edition, which is based on Symbian OS 9.4; it is not available as open source .

Symbian ^ 2 is the first version of the platform that does not require a license fee. Although parts of Symbian ^ 2 are licensed under the EPL , most of the source code is under the protected SFL license and is only available to members of the Symbian Foundation. On June 1, 2010, several Japanese companies, including NTT DoCoMo and Sharp , announced Symbian ^ 2 smartphones for the Japanese market.

Symbian ^ 3 was announced on February 15, 2010. This version is the first fully open source version of the platform after the entire code base was disclosed in early February 2010. Symbian ^ 3 includes some new features, such as support for HDMI recording and output, a new 2D and 3D graphics architecture, and user interface improvements for easier operation. Menus are now accessible with a single touch (previous versions sometimes required two clicks) and up to three customizable start screens. The Symbian ^ 3 SDK was scheduled for October 2010 and took place in May 2011.

The first phones with the open source version of the platform are Symbian ^ 3 smartphones; four of these devices have been announced by Nokia so far (as of September 2010) for 2010: the Nokia N8 , the C6-01, C7 and E7.

Symbian ^ 4 was expected in the first half of 2011 according to original plans. The core of Symbian ^ 4 should be a completely revised user interface based on Qt . On October 21, 2010, Nokia announced that it would no longer develop the Symbian platform for its devices in large version jumps (such as the move from Symbian ^ 3 to Symbian ^ 4), but in smaller pieces that smartphone owners would immediately be able to use via updates be asked. As an example, the complete overhaul of the user interface was mentioned, which was originally supposed to be introduced with Symbian ^ 4 devices, but according to the current status will also come for Symbian ^ 3 devices. Accordingly, Nokia will no longer speak of Symbian ^ 3 or Symbian ^ 4, but only of the platform as a whole. The basis for this further development, which is supposed to serve MeeGo in addition to Symbian , is Qt. With the transition of the development and administration of the platform from the Symbian Foundation to Nokia, this will also be the future development plan for the platform, the superscript version numbers are obsolete from Symbian ^ 3.

List of Symbian smartphones

Symbian v7 on the Nokia 9300i

Symbian OS v6.0

  • Nokia 9210 Communicator , 9210i Communicator, 9290 Communicator

Symbian OS v6.1

  • Foma D901i, F2051, F2102V, F700i, F900i
  • Nokia 3600, 3620, 3650 , 3660, 7650 , N-Gage , N-Gage QD
  • Sendo X
  • Siemens SX1

Symbian OS v7

  • Arima U300, U308
  • Benq P30, P31
  • Panasonic V800
  • Motorola A920, A925, A1000, A1010
  • Nokia 3230, 6260, 6600, 6620, 6670, 7610, 7710, Communicator 9300 , Communicator 9300i , Communicator 9500
  • Panasonic X700, X800
  • Samsung SGH-D720, SGH-D730
  • Sony Ericsson P800, P900, P910

Symbian OS v8

  • Lenovo P930
  • Nokia 6630, 6638, 6680, 6681, 6682, N72
  • Samsung SGH-i520, SGH-D720, SGH-D730

Symbian OS v8.1a / b

  • Nokia N70, N90

Symbian OS v9.1

UIQ v3.0

UIQ v3.1

  • Motorola RIZR Z8 / Motorola Nahpohos Z8

UIQ v3.2

  • Motorola RIZR Z10 (UIQ 3.2)

Symbian OS v9.2

  • LG KS10 JoY , KT610
  • Samsung SGH-i520, i550, i560
  • Motorola Z8
  • Nokia E51 , E63, E71 , E90
  • Nokia N76 , N81 (8GB), N82 , N95 , N95 (8GB)
  • Nokia 5700 XpressMusic, 6120 classic, 6121 classic, 6290, 6124 classic
  • Samsung SGH-G810

Symbian OS v9.3

  • Nokia C5
  • Nokia E52, E72, E75, E55, E66
  • Nokia N78 , N79 , N85 , N86 8MP , N96
  • Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 6710 Navigator, 6220 classic, 6650 (t-mobile), 5320 XpressMusic
  • Samsung i8510 Innov8, Samsung i7110, Samsung SGH-i550, Samsung SGH-L870
  • Nokia C5-00

Symbian OS v9.4 / Symbian ^ 1

Symbian ^ 3 / Symbian "Anna"

The Symbian ^ 3 system was marketed under the name "Anna".

Compared to its predecessor, Symbian Anna offers improved text input including QWERTY input in landscape format, an updated browser, a full-fledged VPN client as well as a device-accelerated encryption function and support for USB OTG devices. Starting in August 2011, Symbian Anna was gradually rolled out as an update for all Symbian ^ 3 devices. The Nokia E6 and Nokia X7-00 already included Symbian Anna in the delivery state.

Symbian "Belle" / "Nokia Belle"

In August 2011 Nokia presented the successor to "Anna", which is called "Symbian Belle". The new features of the operating system include live widgets that can be freely positioned on the start screen, as well as improved integration of the social networks Facebook and Twitter . The first devices with Symbian Belle appeared in autumn 2011:

A 300 MB update to "Nokia Belle" was made available on February 8, 2012 for all "Symbian Anna" and Symbian ^ 3 devices. Due to the dissolution of the brand name Ovi, which was formerly Nokia applications such. B. titled the Nokia Store , Nokia decided to rename the operating system.

On February 27, 2012, the Nokia 808 PureView , which was available in stores from June 2012, was presented with an updated Symbian version "Nokia Belle Feature Pack 1". This version was also available as an OTA update for the Nokia 603, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701 models - for the last two devices with an increase in the CPU speed from 1 GHz to 1.3 GHz.

On August 28, 2012 "Nokia Belle Refresh" for Symbian ^ 3 smartphones of the first generation (Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and E6) was presented. In addition to a new browser version, it also includes specific N8 apps for editing photos.

Belle Feature Pack 2 was available as an OTA update for the 808, 700, 701 and 603 models since October 2, 2012. It includes an improvement to the camera, a new virtual keyboard, a new HTML 5 browser, an improved music player and a car mode. There are new widgets, including a new "lock screen".

Task by Nokia

Stephen Elop stated in an internal memo from February 2011 that the further development of Symbian would become more and more difficult with the growing user requirements and that one would fall further behind the competition.

In October 2013 it was announced that as of January 1, 2014, new apps and updates for Symbian could no longer be submitted to the Nokia Store, but existing apps will be retained.

literature

  • Tam Hanna: Symbian - application and game development for S60v3, S60v5 and Symbian ^ 3 . Open Source Press, December 2010, ISBN 978-3-941841-33-8
  • West, J. and Wood, D. (2014), "Evolving an Open Ecosystem: The Rise and Fall of the Symbian Platform", Collaboration and Competition in Business Ecosystems ( Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 30 ), Emerald Group Publishing Limited , pp. 27-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-3322(2013)0000030005

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Symbian Code arrived at Nokia. Hot
  2. ↑ Nokia: Symbian is no longer Open Source Heise
  3. ↑ Symbian OS v9.5: Efficiency and Power ( Memento of August 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Archived at Symbian.com
  4. ↑ Mobile leaders to unify the Symbian software platform and set the future of mobile free Symbian Foundation
  5. ↑ heise.de
  6. ↑ Samsung ends support for Symbian , accessed October 1, 2010
  7. ^ Symbian Foundation to transition to a licensing operation . Symbian Foundation press release, November 8, 2010, accessed November 9, 2010.
  8. ^ Symbian Foundation to Transition to a Licensing Operation . Nokia press release, November 8, 2010, accessed November 8, 2010.
  9. ↑ Nokia does it with Microsoft. In: Taz . February 11, 2011, accessed March 9, 2011 .
  10. ↑ http://www.connect.de/news/nokia-beerdigt-symbian-1469482.html
  11. ^ Allaboutsymbian.com: Nokia accelerates Qt focus , accessed November 4, 2010
  12. ↑ Nokia introduces new S60 user interface . Youtube.com
  13. ↑ Symbian ^ 1 . Symbian Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  14. ↑ Symbian ^ 2 . Symbian Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  15. ↑ Symbian ^ 2 used in four new mobiles (English-language broadcast) . Symbian Foundation. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  16. ↑ Symbian announces Symbian ^ 3 and immediately gives it away . Symbian Foundation press release, February 15, 2010
  17. ^ Symbian Completes Biggest Open Source Migration Project Ever . Symbian Foundation press release
  18. ↑ Symbian ^ 3 Overview for Developers - Symbian Developer Community . Developer.symbian.org. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  19. ↑ First look at Symbian ^ 3 concept screenshots (English) . All About Symbian. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  20. ↑ a b Platform release schedule - Symbian Developer Community . Developer.symbian.org. July 2, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  21. ↑ Symbian ^ 3 SDK 1.0 released - All About Symbian: . allaboutsymbian.com. May 4, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  22. ↑ Nokia press package for Nokia World 2010 . Nokia. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  23. ↑ Symbian ^ 4 . Symbian Foundation. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  24. ↑ Nokia press release from October 21, 2010 on the further development of the Symbian platform . Nokia. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  25. ↑ Data sheet of the Samsung I8910 HD ( memento from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at chip.de ( accessed June 25, 2009).
  26. ^ Editorial on Symbian "Anna" at teltarif.de, accessed on April 21, 2011.
  27. ↑ Nokia N8 at teltarif.de. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  28. ↑ Nokia E6 at teltarif.de. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  29. ↑ Nokia E7 at teltarif.de. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  30. ↑ Nokia C6-01 at teltarif.de. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  31. ↑ Nokia C7 at teltarif.de. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  32. ↑ Nokia X7 at teltarif.de. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  33. ↑ Device details Nokia 702T ( Memento from October 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at Nokia Developer, accessed on October 17, 2012.
  34. ↑ Markus Franz: Nokia: Up to ten new smartphones with Symbian Anna . Netzwelt.de, June 27, 2011.
  35. ↑ Markus Franz: Nokia: Symbian Belle brings new widgets and new social client . netzwelt.de, August 24, 2011.
  36. ↑ Device details Nokia 500 ( memento from September 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at Nokia Developer, accessed on October 17, 2012.
  37. ↑ Device details Nokia 603 ( Memento June 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) at Nokia Developer, accessed on October 17, 2012.
  38. ↑ Device details Nokia 700 ( memento of October 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at Nokia Developer, accessed on October 17, 2012.
  39. ↑ Device details Nokia 701 ( memento of October 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at Nokia Developer, accessed on October 17, 2012.
  40. ↑ Nokia: Symbian Belle update rolled out . ( Memento from February 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Chip.de, accessed on February 11, 2012.
  41. ↑ Nokia drops the Ovi brand . Computer Bild , accessed February 11, 2012.
  42. ↑ Nokia says goodbye to Symbian . Stern.de, accessed on February 11, 2012.
  43. ↑ Nokia: Symbian update brings MS Office & HTML 5 ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on August 28, 2012.
  44. ↑ Symbian Belle: Nokia brings second feature pack. ( Memento from June 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Report to Chip Online from October 12, 2012.
  45. ↑ Chris Ziegler: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop rallies troops in brutally honest 'burning platform' memo? (update: it's real!). News from engadget.com dated February 8, 2011.
  46. ↑ Nokia: No new apps for Symbian and MeeGo from 2014. Report to Heise online from October 8, 2013.