Make Symbian to be upgradable

Cheers! GU-S   @BRAINtechPLEASE         electronicBRAINedgement's blog

0    1

Luis Pérez - Jul 7, 2010

those aren't updates, what you have there are patches, your phone still has the same OS that came with, but patched.

0    0

Reply

This is why people love iPhones! Apple did a very good job by keeping one device and upgrading over time both the software and the hardware.

1    1

Siraj Hassan Mohideen - Jan 16, 2010

Yep i strongly Agree if Apple Can why not The Mobile Giant Nokia cant :) :D  Give it a Try Nokia :D 

Cheers Siraj aka Apache
 http://www.lovemynokia.com

1    1

Reply

I also totally agree with this idea,if we want to put forward the symbian OS,an upgrade of the OS should be there as long the hardware specs of the mobile support.

1    1

Siraj Hassan Mohideen - Jan 16, 2010

Yes the Upgrade must be universal and Nokia Software Updater must update the Software by inspecting the mobile hardware 

Cheers Siraj aka Apache
 http://www.lovemynokia.com

1    1

Reply

i agree with this idea it sound awesome :)

that will give symbian a big push forward, and the hardware matter can be solved by checking the ability before upgrading the system :).

Symbian need to hurry up now and fallow the others who going really fast "android" have that option :| and it's really still baby so why symbian doesn't have it ! plz don't let it die.

1    1

awesome idea.

but maybe hard to do? because symbian phones have very saturated hardware specs. there no one universal spec.

the new os maybe not compatible with the old drivers. so re-writing the drivers need to be done too. too many hassle?

but it is really a good idea

0    1

Symbin have 2 have it to fellow other Android, iphone, windows mobile and maybe maemo im not sure

0    1

That is probably the best idea I have seen on this site, yet something that should be a standard! If I have a capable hardware, why can I not upgrade my software to the latest OS? That would be just just great.

With so many news about the improvements scheduled for Symbian^3 and Symbian^4, I believe it keeps new users from buying devices now. And even then when the new devices are out, Symbian^5 and 6 will be announced, with even better improvements and features...

Make it free to upgrade, and everything is much easier!

0    1

Siraj Hassan Mohideen - Jan 16, 2010

Thanks for Supporting this Great Idea  

If I have a capable hardware, why can I not upgrade my software to the latest OS? That would be just just great.

 

Awesome Point bro why not the Nokia N95 can run latest FP's ? Its powerfull still now !

Cheers Siraj aka Apache
 http://www.lovemynokia.com

2    1

Reply

This is the best Idea so far but on the other hand only few devices can handle an upgrade because of the inadequate hardware of the devices. Most phones that can upgrade so far are the Androids and WinMo but look at their specs they have a faster and bigger chipset.

For Symbian and Nokia this Suggestion is not impossible to do 

  SymbianDreams.com

1    1

Siraj Hassan Mohideen - Jan 16, 2010

If I have a capable hardware, why can I not upgrade my software to the latest OS? That would be just just great.

 illusion bro Note this point Big Chipset make no sense here . As i have already told golbal firmware NSU would check phone and update the OS for hardwares available :)

Cheers Siraj aka Apache
 http://www.lovemynokia.com

0    1

Reply

Eduardo Leite - Jan 16, 2010

As a good example, N78 has the same ARM 11 369 / 96 MB RAM as E51, yet N78 runs FP2, so why not an OS upgrade for E51?

We can't expect absurd things like an N70 running 5th edition, of course, but I can think of several cases where it would be possible. 

I'm pretty sure we will never get this for S60 devices, unfortunately. But the new Symbian devices could start having that feature at least.

 

 

1    1

Reply

Antoine RJ Wright - Mar 19, 2010

The reason there's no update in the manner you suggest lies with the licensee, not the Symbian Foundation.

And while many of the high level specs might be the same, there may be issues relating to radios and other features which would require more effort than they would gain the company.

Personal Site | Mobile Ministry Magazine

0    1

Reply

Youssef Mrabet - Jul 7, 2010

I guess the reason also lies with how Symbian is implemented and if there's enough abstraction that would allow easy portage of the software between different hardware platforms.

This is a strong requirement from the end-users community and would bring a strong adherence from the developers community as well. So the extra effort is obviously worth it.

If Android is capable of managing this licensee issue, and bring upgrades from 1.6 to 2.1 among different licensees, why wouldn't Symbian and its few licensees (mainly Nokia, plus SE and Samsung) be able to do so?

If we take Nokia's example, it's clear that they make huge scale economy by sharing same or very similar HW platforms between several phones with different form factors. So it would be great that high end users (paying substantial prices for their devices) do also benefit from this, by getting the right to upgrade their phone's software.

0    0

Reply

I think it's important that OS should be upgradable. Symbian^3 devices most likely will be Symbian^4 capable so offering no update would be stupid.

2    1

The only problem with this is that the manufacturers will have to start utilizing better hardware then they currently do (like Nokia). Once the proper hardware is there, I can't really see a problem with upgrading to new software, especially new feature packs. If a Droid can be updated from 2.0 to 2.1, or another Android phone from 1.6 to 2.1, than I see no reason why Symbian can't let us upgrade from say FP1 to FP2.

Douglas Auchter
Nokia N97-3, E72-2, E71-2, N95-3
Symbian... multitasking since 2004.

1    1

I can see the problem with supporting old(er) hardware with new software releases. But there are many software only items (e.g. the web-runtime) where there should be little reason not to upgrade it. Otherwise it creates a more fragmented marker for developers to test against.

Also with current firmware updates it has to be available for your current operator - not just for your phone model. In my experience this either means a huge delay or never getting an update. I wonder if the operator customisations should be packaged in a way that can survive an update - hence reducing the number of firmwares needed and allowing all users of a device to benefit once the update is published.

0    1

I disagree with charging the user to upgrade. Imagine how users would feel when they look at Android and see how they can upgrade to a new version at no cost, and then they look and see that Symbian charges a fee to do the same thing. This will push more users away.

I fully support being able to upgrade to new feature packs, assuming the hardware can support them, which is another thing I believe Symbian should be pushing for (hardware standards).

I completely disagree with charging users a fee to upgrade though.

Douglas Auchter
Nokia N97-3, E72-2, E71-2, N95-3
Symbian... multitasking since 2004.

1    0

Chris Mesenburg - Jul 23, 2010

David Wood is in favor of OS upgrade fees.

 

Chris

0    0

Reply

If you want something upgradable, choose everything but symbian. Go android, iphone or Rim

0    0

Enric Guillen Famada - Jul 4, 2010

I'm disagree. today, any manufacturer gives full support to the mobile system as it is updated in the next version.

You do not know the fragmentation of android, or the improvements of Ios 4 that are not present in the Iphone 3G?

0    0

Reply

Lawrence Yen - Jul 7, 2010

I believe what Luis is trying to say is that upgrading w/ other OS is relatively simple. Whether apps are broken after that b/c certain functions aren't compatible is not the point. The OS upgrade offers new enhancements and basic features which is from the manufacturer themselves. 

There isn't another OS layer on top such as the HTC Sense, Samsung TouchWiz UI, LG S-Class 3D...etc. They're all using Android underneath but they're introducing something else so the upgrade is a bit slower but they get there eventually...hence the fragmentation and not everyone using the same base layer OS 1.5 or 2.2 android.

 

As for Nokia that makes their phone, and the OS. S60 3rd edition FP1 can't upgrade to FP2 (E71 & E72 comparing....specs are almost identical) S40 can't upgrade to anything, Maemo can't be upgraded from anything. Yeah, there are updates within FP1.....but why can't I get FP2 feature programs on my FP1? Sorry, but let me just refer to symbian advocates http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2010/07/symbian-guru-com-is-over.html .....oh wait, they're just fans now, just like me. They've left, just like me. Why am I here? Hoping for some nostalgic turnaround from a great company that gave me my first cell phone. 

When those lazy executives ( over there stop trying to win market share in emerging markets with candy bar keypad phones (which can get soaked in water and still work) and actually makes something that connects people....maybe, some of us will go back and spend our hard earned cash on a Nokia. 

0    0

Reply

Luis Pérez - Jul 7, 2010

I do know about Android legacy (what you call fragmentation), android's legacy is not google's fault, its the manufacturers fault, but if you dont want to wait for your manufacturers update, you can always get a custom rom for your android device with the newest version of this OS, can you say the same thing about symbian?

About fragmentation, let me tell you something, there is more fragmentation all over symbian and nokia than the one there is on Android.

Can you get a custom rom with s60v3 fp2 for an e71?

 

Most of the improvements of iOS 4 are present on the iphone 3g, those wich are not, are hardware related. Most of the improvements of latest RIM OS are present on every blackberry.

Is symbian the one reluctant to move forward, or are we the ones reluctant to move forward?

0    0

Reply

@enric

I do know about Android legacy (what you call fragmentation), android's legacy is not google's fault, its the manufacturers fault, but if you dont want to wait for your manufacturers update, you can always get a custom rom for your android device with the newest version of this OS, can you say the same thing about symbian?

About fragmentation, let me tell you something, there is more fragmentation all over symbian and nokia than the one there is on Android.

Can you get a custom rom with s60v3 fp2 for an e71?

Most of the improvements of iOS 4 are present on the iphone 3g, those wich are not, are hardware related. Most of the improvements of latest RIM OS are present on every blackberry.

Is symbian the one reluctant to move forward, or are we the ones reluctant to move forward?

0    0

Today, every single smartphone OS out there is upgradable. Even Apple (the most closed company) allows upgrade to iOS4 for iPhone 3G and 3GS. While with Symbian the precursor of mobile OSes this is still not possible... I see this as a very big disadvantage.

High-end phones are more expensive than laptops and netbooks. The marketing message says that with Symbian, we have a mobile  computer. A computer where you can't upgrade the OS, isn't a computer.

0    0

High-growth niche.  Horizon 3.  Products and Services in the Cloud.

Hardware and Firmware

The bottom layer of the cloud stack in our proposed
ontology is the actual physical hardware and
switches that form the backbone of the cloud. In this
regard, users of this layer of the cloud are normally
big enterprises with huge IT requirements in need of
subleasing Hardware as a Service (HaaS). For that,
the HaaS provider operates, manages and upgrades the
hardware on behalf of its consumers, for the life-time
of the sublease. This model is advantageous to the
enterprise users, since they do not need to invest in
building and managing data centers. Meanwhile, HaaS
providers have the technical expertise as well as the
cost-effective infrastructure to host the systems.

Chris

0    1

Nokia and Symbian must be more consistent toward their customers, developers and fans... If Symbian is meant for "mobile computers" as it is largely advertised, and if the high-end mobiles from Nokia are "mobile computers" we should be able to upgrade the OS, unless there a big hardware gap.

Users will be happy to have new core functionalities and enhancements, and would not worry about their mobiles quickly being outdated. And developers will have a larger base.

0    0

An upgradeable/updateable OS is a must, especially with the new QT platforms, if we are going to keep pace with Android and OS4 we need upgrades/updates. The consumer will expect upgrades now that the two market trend setters are doing so.

Edit:  This upgrade ability/updatability would have to be limited though because of hardware.  So a uniform standard for all upgrades/updates would have to be agreed upon.  Much like apple does just in a more cut and dry fashion.  To explain, Apple's upgrade to OS4 was limited.  It only included certain aspects of the new OS for the 3G.  This would be cumbersome and difficult because of the number of different phones produced under Symbian; so for Symbian there would have to be a base line hardware requirement  for any update.  This would translate to much less testing and possible headaches, but still giving the consumer updates in the near term.

0    0

David Wood in favor of version fee.

Duncan, can you expand on low, medium, high embedded hardware specs for devices?

Three tiers, segments, cultural/social/economic demographics.

Pricing scheme low/free, medium/five to ten percent charge based on prior purchase price, high/ten to thirty percent charge?

Conversation starter.

Chris

Chris

0    0