TamsS60 - the S60 Blog

People using an N8xx tablet should head over to Nokia’s for a small software update.

The latest version of OS 2008 seems to be a maintenance release and fixed the following:

* SSU (seamless software updating) which enables components of the operating system to be updated without having to flash/rewrite the entire operating system.
* Over-the-air (OTA) updates via Wi-Fi and WiMax connections
* Update of the email client to Modest with several enhancements to the user interface and additional support of several mobile-friendly email features.
* Addition of Chinese fonts to the system font list
* Miscellaneous bug fixes to OpenSSL
* Browser panning fixes
* A-GPS support for the N810 and N810WE
* Updates to the Wayfinder GPS application
* and more

The updates are available from the following URL’s after providing your serial number:
N800 N810

via BrightHand

The rumor mill has been spinning in the UIQ department; here are the latest leaks. As always, these are not confirmed by officials of the relevant companies - take them with a grain of salt:

Motorola plans last-stand UIQ phone
The Boy Genius Report claims that Motorola will debut a “last stand” cell phone powered by UIQ in Q4 2008. As of now, little more is known about the machine - except that Motorola will sell off its cellphone division if this device tanks…

Sony Ericsson may not bring BeiBei/Paris to Europe/USA
The Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog claims that the Paris and BeiBei UIQ boxen(sister devices to the Gx00 boxen handled at the CeBit) will not hit America and Europe. However, it is possible that they may drop in Asia.

Should the scenario outlined above become true, it IMHO is time to abandon the UIQ ship ASAP. Sony did something similar when killing off its Clie organizers(the last Clie was Asia-only); and there is no UIQ licensee left once SE has jumped ship…

Nokia has bought Symbian a few hours ago(via Reuters), and plans to release a “Symbian mashup” as open source in the next two years(via AllAboutSymbian).

As the two links above contain all that there is to say about the topic, I will rather look into the consequences and motivations surrounding this affair - bear with me…

TamsS60 has identified Linux as a threat to Symbian-based phones a few months ago. Unlike most other platforms, most Symbian phone purchases don’t happen because the user wants an S60 phone. Instead, he just buys what’s hip - and this may incidentally run S60.

This has huge implications: while a Palm OS or Windows Mobile user will be reluctant to accept a Linux phone (due to his HUGE library of applications that can easily be worth 500$ or more), the average S60 user (who definitely won’t be reading this) couldn’t care less.

Manufacturers know this, and will enjoy the opportunity to save a few dollars per shipped device…which could be bad for Symbian. Opensourcing the platform will definitely help here…even though it likely is a fatal blow for UIQ(which has just begun to lay off employees).

The real issue IMHO is something else: Symbian is now fully owned by Nokia. Palm originally spun off its OS division(PalmSource) in order to make the platform more interesting for third parties - after buying it up again, all remaining licensees jumped ship quickly(even GSPDA gave up a few weeks ago).

As of now, the folks that should really be concerned are UIQ users - for them, starting the porting process is an absolute must. Seeing that S60 licensees have never been too important, S60 developers can expect at least two more years of peace(if things go like they did at Palm’s)…

What do you think?