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Video: Symbian^4 will offer a new user experience and new developer tools

Categories: Symbian
By: , IntoMobile
Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 3:49 AM

In a nutshell, what I said over a month ago about the current S60 UI being scrapped, and then expanded on a week later during an interview with Scott Weiss, User Interface Technology Manager at Symbian Foundation, has been confirmed on video by Ian Hutton in the video below. We’re not going to see any radically new Symbian user interfaces for at least another 2 years. Minimum. That leaves Nokia fanbois and shareholders in between a rock and a hard place. Whatever market share Nokia will lose in the high end segment of the smartphone space, which they will thanks to Android and the iPhone, they’ll make up for in volume when they drive the price points of Symbian handsets into new territories such as the €150 and even sub €100 market.

[Hat tip to @Symbian]

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About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • ovi

    “not going to see any radically new Symbian user interfaces for at least another 2 years”
    when nokia will be in a grave?

  • Stefan Constantinescu

    They’re not. Silly.

  • ovi

    @stefan

    nokia needs a new user interface (not cosmectic approvements) NOW. i let you live in your dreams. the reality is very diferent.

  • Stefan Constantinescu

    I can’t argue with someone who doesn’t know that Symbian devices make up such a small percentage of the devices Nokia actually ships. From January to June Nokia shipped 196.4 million phones, only 30.6 ran Symbian. That’s 15.6%. Nokia will bleed in the smartphone space because of their lack of innovation, but they’re not going to go “in a grave.”

  • Friend

    Stefan,
    If I may…
    Your always so subtle bitterness towards Nokia was entertaining at first. Now it’s become petty and transparent.
    You’re a pleasure to read when you’re not being consumed by vengeance.

  • ouais

    haha! you’re right! it’s a good reason for nokia to stay inactive: becaus they only sell 196.4 millions phones under symbian! great!

    let’s be serious. Smartphone is a new market for manufacturers. the others brands know that! but nokia not. apple had make a revolution on this, samsung sell new touchscreen every 2 monthes, LG too, HTC too. And these enterprises had made a good job about their UIs. Nokia use the same system since… néhandertal and you, Stefan, says that hey only sell 196.4 millions phones under symbian!ah ah

    Today Symbian is hard to understand, illogical, ugly, buggy! They have to work on it or use a completement new O.S

    In my opinion, if they don’t do a good job abou UI, or if they don’t sell it earlier or communicate about it, they will die, like Moto. their marketshare is decreasing. it’s an alert.they sleep!