Multi-touch and visual multitasking for Symbian^3

23rd February, 2010 by Adina
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Symbian has opened its Mobile World Congress introductions with the presentation of Symbian^3. The new operating system, as expected from its previews, includes multi-touch, single-tap actions where they are possible and a set of home screens with widgets. A unique feature is a visual multitasking system allowing users to bring up views of active applications windows and eventually choose to switch to those applications or close them without needing to leave the existing view.

The new platform is expected to solve many of the chronic problems of Symbian, such as much easier Internet access strategy. The earlier operating system continuously prompted the user to select an Internet access source. Symbian^3 instead behaves more like the iPhone or Android, which automatically switch from cellular to Wi-Fi and vice versa. There is also a better control over memory, which improves performance of multiple running applications, especially on phones that are less powerful. Stability problems after long use will also be avoided.

Media is focused with a music player that resembles to the Cover Flow on the iPhone and an FM radio application that supports purchasing tracks from any music store. Phones including HDMI as an option can handle 1,080-pixel on an external display.

The new operating system will be complete by the end of next month and is scheduled to reach shipping hardware in summer. Nokia seems to be the first to use the new released platform, but Sony Ericsson, Samsung and other phone makers have also supported Symbian and could eventually use it.

Symbian^3 will perhaps be critical for Nokia, as its dependence on the old Symbian S60 was probably the cause of its loss in market share. The iPhone and other platforms have tempted Nokia’s customers, mainly in the once secure European home market for the Finnish company.


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