Still don't think Symbian will be much of a force to count with? Jørgen Sundgot explains why PalmSource and Microsoft should start getting worried just about now.
Symbian. It's the name of a venture between several of the largest manufacturers in the mobile industry - and also a word that during most of 2001 called for muted giggles when mentioned to those supposed to be "in the know" about all things mobile. As for myself, I stated my opinion numerous times both in writing and otherwise that Symbian would prevail in the end. Despite the during 2001-present lack of devices on the market (not to mention in development) and virtually no software being available for the platform, we're now counting 2002 - and guess what? I wasn't wrong.
And yes, it's something I take pride in - of course, since nothing is more gratifying than being right when everybody else is out to prove you wrong (although the coverage of Symbian has swung from negative to very positive to back to ultra-negative since its inception). In the spirit of all honesty though, I must admit that my firm belief in the platform is somewhat difficult to explain - since from the outside, to myself and everyone else, Symbian seemed to be in a rut and at times showed no signs of ever emerging from it. In lack of something better, I'll write it off on the account for European pride.
Nowadays, things are looking up for Symbian, with Nokia having brought the 9210 to market and the 7650 being right around the corner. Then comes the Sony Ericsson P800 some time this fall, hopefully followed shortly by the top-secret successor to the present 9200 Communicator series, code-named Hilden. Lastly, Siemens signed up for using Nokia's Symbian OS 6.2-based Series 60 reference design for smartphones (used in the Nokia 7650) this week, further bolstering the future of Symbian OS.
So why do I think Symbian, of all platforms is going to soar to greatness? European pride aside, Symbian OS builds on the EPOC operating system, known for being power-efficient and stable, In addition, the operating system is fully on par with the two main competing platforms - Palm OS and Pocket PC - and after its recarnation from the EPOC to the Symbian OS, wireless connectivity has been strongly emphasized. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Nokia and Sony Ericsson have some of the most extensive distribution networks in the world and sell products by the millions rather than the tens of thousands, as opposed to the competition.
The latter is the main force of Symbian as a platform; all of the participating manufacturers have distribution networks that combined cover most of the areas on our planet where people can afford to buy a phone. If you - like me - care more for technology than distribution networks, this might not be such a fun read, but it's nevertheless the hard truth. Walk into ye olde home electronics shoppe anywhere, and you'll find that mobile phones outnumber handhelds by anything from 10 to 1 or 5 to 1.
There are however two things Symbian needs to fix - quickly. First and foremost, the number of applications available for the platform. Yes, I know there's only one device on the market, but no large and serious software house has still stepped forward to provide a large range of quality applications for the Symbian platform. Secondly, it's the confusing amount of reference designs and whatnot developers have to relate to - Symbian OS is Symbian OS, but you can forget about running the same application on the Nokia 9200 series, the Nokia 7650, and the Sony Ericsson P800 unless a developer hard-codes support for each one into it. If you have a Pocket PC, or Palm OS device, you can grab virtually any application (OS version requirements and bad coding aside) and run it on any device without having to worry about incompatibility issues.
If Symbian can fix these two issues, I'll be so bold as to stick my nose out and say that we'll quickly see Symbian (and J2ME, thanks to the strong support of that standard among mobile phone manufacturers) grow to be the most-selling platform in terms of wireless handhelds and smartphones. Symbian has already set sail, and all the platform needs now is a good captain to steer clear of the previously mentioned obstacles.
Review: Siemens Xelibri X5 It's all about fashion and style as Siemens brings its second collection of Xelibri phones to market: Jørgen Sundgot takes a closer look at the sporty X5.
Bluetooth keyboard coming this month Think Outside's latest keyboard connects to handhelds and mobile phones via Bluetooth for maximum portability. And it should be out within the month.
Nokia 3220 debuts light messaging Nokia's latest phone offers yet another new method of communicating across a room; flashing lights blinking in sequence.
Nokia 7700 Playing host to a brand new Symbian OS based platform, Nokia's multi-tasking 7700 wunderkind certainly stands out in a crowd; Jørgen Sundgot got to spend hands-on time with it.
Sendo X Jørgen Sundgot gets to spend hands-on time with the Sendo X - the most powerful Series 60 smartphone to date.
Siemens SX1 The very first smartphone from Siemens is in the hot seat as Jørgen Sundgot takes a closer look at the radio and MP3-enabled SX1 - powered by Nokia's Series 60 platform.
REVIEW CENTER 
