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The Future of Symbian
S3D writes "On 18 May 2004, Symbian, owner of the OS for high-end smartphones announced the formal launch of the Symbian Signed initiative for digitally signing and certifying Symbian applications that meet a set of test criteria. Gartner believes that Symbian Signed, in its current form, is a weak certification program oriented largely toward the needs of application publishers and network operators and may be inconvinient for developers. "
Link is slightly mispelled. Not quite safe for work. Pretty good try though.
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and may be inconvinient for developers.
...that they might have said the same thing about all the mandatory copy protection systems in place (or proposed) on devices. Like console systems. Or Palladium.
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Link is slightly mispelled. Not quite safe for work. Pretty good try though. Sorry about the dup post where I hit post instead of reply....
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I think that I have heard this before...let me think...I'll get it...Microsoft Driver Signing. The point of that was to scare new users into buying alternate forms of hardware which have been produced by a manufacturer paid by Microsoft. While this isn't quite the same, it is restrictive to independant developers.
All I wana know is...
Does it come with a sexy computer voice?
I mean a manufacturer who pays Microsoft.
Well, we are talking of an OS for cell phones, right? Wouldn't it be the major goal of such a certification process indeed be about being compatible with the network and with phone features?
Symbian doesn't specifiy a user interface. Nokia developed Systems 60/90 as user interfaces. Sony Ericsson provides again something different. Other manufacturers sublicense the interface (Siemens)
Again and very slowly: Certifying a cell phone (platform) is precisely about the systems interaction with the network. Not about "usability" (whatever that is).
Not all certification is carried out independently.
Ah, you mean like some analysts don't seem to act independently, but sometimes leave the reader with the distinct fealing that they are whores in the pay of a uhhh! major software company trying frantically to get a foothold into the booming cellphone business?
Dudes, this is not about "Windows Certified". I suggest that you use more of your time cluing yourself in, instead of constantly wasting your time in rebooting your Microsoft Powered "Smart"-Phones.
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
Not a troll, I honestly want to know!
It might well be a weak certification program, but in the past developers have worked with some real crap and more often than not, debug entire libraries themselves and/or report to OEM vendors, etc.
So long as the owners of IP (and code), listen to developers and have a large enough pool of people to respond within reasonable times, the developer community over the world will embrace it AND provide it's feedback and suggestions
http://efil.blogspot.com/
I guess I need more coffee, I started reading this as the future of Sybian.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
From https://www.symbiansigned.com/Symbian_Signed_White _Paper.pdf
"5.4. Freeware developers and the development process
Symbian Signed recognises the innovation and value of the Freeware developer community and will introduce a Peer Review process which shall enable high quality Freeware applications which successfully pass the review process. Symbian Signed shall introduce this process during H2 2004.
Certification is the means by which such software makes the transition from the developer community to the commercial world. However, there needs to be a means for developers to run applications without signing, both as part of the development process and to permit those with the technical skill to share ideas (e.g. developer groups at universities).
Under normal circumstances this is not a problem as all phones allow installation of unsigned applications (usually with a warning). It is possible, however, in the future that some operators may require that only signed applications can be installed on phones supplied to their networks. In this case, the operators and phone makers will need to take steps to support the developer community.
Generally this is achieved by providing "unlocked phones". Alternatively, there are opportunities in principle to integrate capabilities into the development tools (IDEs) that allow developers to install unsigned applications directly from the development tools. The choice of the most appropriate mechanism is an issue for the operators/phone makers.
This will allow the developer community to develop applications even on phones that may normally restrict the installation of unsigned apps."
Matt Thompson - Actuality - Insert product here.
It probably also means the developers get the green light to put huge "SYMBIAN APPROVED!!!!1" stickers on their products, which will be misleading to Joe Average PDA/CELL user. This in turn creates alot of resentment when the advertised product doesn't live up to the hype (that symbian indirectly helped create via the sticker), they will feel burned on the product and ultimately on Symbian products.
Hell, even MS certified drivers have snuck by that made stuff break.
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
This looks like a marketing ploy. Where the /. community many not like this, the average user would probubally have more trust in a signed application. And if those applications get preferential treatment, marketing and the rest then if your pushing a product it's a way to go.
The average joe 6 pack would be more likely to trust a signed application than one with a warning.
Evolution or ID?
Not a player? Sorry mate - but as far as I'm concerned the Psion5 I got is still the best thing when it comes to putting in large amounths of texts on the road (it runs EPOC - the forerunner to symbian) - while I can't ask for more in a PDA than my Palm m130 delivers.
Just because MicroSoft claims to be about the same size as Palm on the OS side of things, it don't mean that there wont be people like me who'll either stick to the old devices or are willing to pay for getting new devices with the same OS on them... It's also worth noting that your source seems awfully biased ;)
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
Even in a completely non-Microsoft story, you sheep find ways to continue your mindless and predictable MS bashing. Where I come from we have a word for it and it is called pathetic karma whores patting each other on the back and sitting around saying "hrrrrmmph".
Problem is, this is what I think of anytime I read *anything* about Symbian......
Couple of questions. Do they have a (free) runtime environment which runs on Linux? Can I use gcc to compile cellphone applications? If so, I am going to have a look at this stuff.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Yeah, you keep on using your "alternative" OS.. and your OS/2 Warp running on your IBM PC-jr. The rest of the world will be moving on, but there is always room for you sad little hangers-on.
Yes, and it's the voice of Barry White.
Evolution or ID?
lookout bullow. the daze of the glowbull warmongering, greed/fear/ego based felonious stock markup FraUD execrable, is dissolving into coolapps/the abyss, at the (increasing) speed of right.
all is not lost.
consult with/trust in yOUR creators.... the future's been bright, from the beginning. see you there?
So Gartner attacks yet another technology which is a direct competitor to Microsoft's products.
What else is new?
Antti S. Brax - Old school - http://www.iki.fi/asb/
I think the title to this article: "The Future of Symbian" is a bit misleading, seeing just the headline I was under the impression that Symbian were at that stage (you know, the one Sun's at) where the future of the company is at stake (or maybe on a stake in Sun's case?). Anyway, doesn't really indicate that the article is regarding Symbian starting a program certification uh... program.
Insert any popular sybian vibrator joke here
Of all the companies that change their name for all the wrong reasons, this is one of those times where it would be for good reasons. Unless you want to be known as the company with a name similar to a high end vibrator. Or perhaps they could add a smart phone attachment to the sybian?
The wireless carriers are accustomed to controlling both the handset that customers use and all of the software on that handset. Now that handsets have become smartphones, most of the carriers would like to maintain their position at the top of the customer foodchain by pre-certifying the software that can run on customer handsets and controlling the installation and sales of that software through the carrier's web portal. I don't really blame them: Revenues from voice traffic are declining, and so far revenues from data traffic aren't increasing fast enough to make up the difference.
The problem is that independent software vendors don't want to buy into this system. Developing software for handhelds is difficult -- more difficult than developing similar desktop software because of the constrained resources on a handheld. Despite this, prices for handheld software are generally lower than for desktop software because customers perceive these to be "small" applications that should have "small" prices.
Certification makes life more difficult for independent software vendors without providing much in return. It adds another expense to the software development process. It discourages frequent updates to the software (which customers generally like) by increasing the time and cost of each release.
Worse, if certification is manditory, it prevents the customer from trying the software before purchasing it, and it prevents developers from testing and refining the software with real customers before certifying it.
In my experience, these certification programs never achieve enough "brand awareness" from customers to become a factor in their purchasing decision. Companies look for and require certifications before making purchases, but individuals rarely do. So the software developer doesn't derive any benefit from the additional hassle and expense of getting certified.
It's going to come down to this: Customers who are willing to pay a premium to get a smartphone are going to want one where they can install whatever software they want, not just software "certified" by the carrier. Most software developers will try to market directly to these customers rather than dealing with the extra cost and hassle of certification.
Or does the asshole who moderated this "informative" really think the article meant Sybian, instead of Symbian? Jeez, how much effort is it to sweep your cursor over the links before moderating? Well, to be fair to the poster, maybe the parent of this didn't intend to be a troll at all, just replied to the main story, instead of to a post above, but this doesn't change the fact that the moderator is an asshole.
Like everyone else, I also immediately thought of the vibrator. Oy. Geek minds think alike.
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
Let's do the math. I don't know what the Symbian folks will charge, but in MS land it's $500 per certification. Each *complete* app needs to be certified, so if you support multiple languages, each is a separate certification.
So that's $500 x say, 5 languages x 3 releases a year, bringing our grand total to $7,500 per year in certification. Add $350 for a signing certificate and you've got nearly $8000/yr. in fees.
Now, let's say you use Handango as a channel. They take as much as 60% depending on sales volume (their cut goes up with volume, if you can believe that). So let's just pick 25%, since that's industry norm. That means you'll need gross revenues of over $10,000 per year, or approximately 1,000 unit sales (at $10 each) just to break even on certification and signing costs!
Now I don't know what Symbian will charge, or how their program will be configured, but I can tell you this: the small, independent SW developer is getting wiped out by big business at every turn. Bad patents, DRM, and gratuitous certification and signing requirements are going to make it impossible to distribute apps by anyone without deep pockets.
-brian
Hmm, you shoulda been mod'd up. Seriously, does anyone give a flying fsck about Gartner?
Symbian is the leading Smartphone OS... like it or not. You just need to look at the sales figures... (google: symbian sales). I think you'll find the sales of Symbian based phones are way ahead of Palm or MS Stinker (or whatever its called now).
Symbian is written specifally for smartphones and therefore doesn't kill the battery life too much, and doesn't require a 3/400 Mhz processor to run software.
The P900 runs on a 160Mhz processor AND can do everything a MS sor Palm handheld can do... play video, music, games, emulators etc etc and with a good range of software - games and business applications.
According to this interview with someone from Symbian marketing, the signing fee is targeted to be in the tens of dollars, not hundreds.
-- "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" -- Juvenal
The reason for certifying software is not to hurt developers.
It's aim is to force the user to download only certified software the operator wants him to download.
If a certificate costs money (and it does, any way you look at it) a free software vendor is not going to have one.
Anyone knows an open source project not ran by a major company that can be freely downloaded to your smartphone?
Block that freebies - and squeeze some $$$ from your customer.
The Symbian move aims to lure operators into the growing market of cellular phones content sales.
I love burekas in the morning
when I first saw this article (out of the corner of my eye) I thought it was talking about these and I was thinking to myself "now THAT'S 'News For Nerds'"
Jeremy Logan's Website.
In the US, PalmOS is the leading Smartphone OS. Sales of the Treo600 have been so huge that they are beating Symbian and MS Smartphone combined, and so huge that Palm can't produce them fast enough to meet demand. (The Treo600 is practically non-existant in Europe.)
...I was getting all happy about new sybian technology.
Fortunately, the US is not the entire world.
You Yanks haven't a clue on good products... or presidents!
G.Bush == terrorist
I initially read the title as The Future of the Sybian . Of course I clicked as fast as I could, only to be very disappointed by what it really was about.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."