A lot of effort has been put in the S^3 to optimize the code and its work speed. Compared to the fifth edition of the S60 platform, everything appears several times faster, which is a great advantage. In addition, the increased RAM size allows one to run a dozen of applications and keep them active in the memory after that, which is another advantage.
As for the disadvantages, the S^3 is none other than an evolutionary development of S60 5th edition with a few minor features added (e.g. an updated player, single tap, pinch-to-zoom, HDMI output, several widget desktops). The situation is analogous to the Android updates from version 2.0 to 2.2 through 2.1, which happened within half a year or slightly more than that. What was added is a new gallery with support for geo-tags (version 2.1) plus minor updates to other functions, as well as extra speed in version 2.2. It took Symbian about two years to do exactly the same.
Unfortunately, the browser didn't undergo any significant changes and yet remains Symbian's weak spot, as well as the icon appearance, interface and its animation. The widgets and the way the desktops are organized are both beneath criticism, too. The developers must have concentrated on the unsuccessful Nokia N97 experience overlooking more fruitful solutions. Does the interface bring anything new to the market? No it doesn't. Are there any comparative advantages? There are none. For example, by adopting the idea of a video editor from the Samsung i8910, Nokia did add extra functionality to the S^3. Yet that is a single example of such successful adoption, there's hardly any other to mention. Improving the music player to the level of 2007's Apple iPhone can't be considered an advantage; it's an attempt to catch up with the competitor but not to claim the leadership.
I can come up with many other such attempts. Yet the final conclusion will remain the same. The S^3 appears an intermediate version of the platform unfortunately, one that has been delayed several times. What is presented in the end, has been available in other OS' for a long time, Symbian is just trying to catch up with the competition (e.g. the newly released social services in the phonebook could be seen in the N97 prototypes two years ago). For the Nokia fans who are satisfied with S60 5th edition it is a great improvement (it's faster, more stable, adds some new features), but for the whole market the platform comes out outdated, both in terms of its interface and many inbuilt software capabilities. It is functionally inferior to iOS 4 (e.g. in terms of games, social services, interface, e-mail functionality, amount of third-party software), Android (e.g. in terms of interface, extra phonebook and calendar features), Bada (e.g. in terms of interface, Social Hub functionality, etc.). Unfortunately, the number of updates in this version of Symbian is not enough to qualify for its own name; Nokia used to call such updates Feature Packs. Now the company is trying to make a splash since it is lacking resources and that is all it's got. All the effort has been put into S^4. However, taking into account the fact that the latter is based on S^3 to some extent, the company won't be able to build a new platform from scratch. Nokia is also dissipating its energy on MeeGo, which doesn't leave much chance for improving the services and platforms. All those observations put together provide the necessary justification for the meager Symbian update that we have.
The S^3 platform is a real gift to the competition from Nokia itself. Products based on S^3 will be widely advertized and have huge sales, which should have an impact on the product generations to come after them. Let me explain that. Having bought a phone with the outdated interface, the customers will soon get acquainted with the alternative interfaces and OS functionalities. And Symbian will only lose from such comparison, even in the low-end. There's no need even to mention the new Android version due at the end of the year. The new Symbian is inferior to the already existing solutions.
In addition to the traditional forum discussion option, we have prepared a questionnaire, in which you can personally evaluate the level of improvement in S^3. I believe it to be an objective measure of whether the new Symbian platform is bliss or miss. The Symbian and Nokia people will have an opportunity to get your feedback and draw conclusions otherwise unavailable to them due to their firm belief that the Nokia name can be selling products for years by itself, without having to make major improvements to those. It will also be a measure of how objective our editing team and I personally are. That is why I would like to kindly ask you to spend five minutes to answer the questionnaire and write a few lines on the forum. I don't ask for that often but will appreciate your time and opinion. Thank you in advance.
Labels: Nokia , Symbian
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