Posted by tranced
Independent analyst comment - Tony Cripps, senior analyst at Ovum.
“Nokia's S60 Summit is one of the primary vendor-driven forums for mobile application developers today. Rightly so. Nokia can now claim over 150 million shipments across 79 models of S60 handsets since its introduction on Nokia's 7650 phone in 2002. Furthermore, that figure is accelerating rapidly, with 23 devices launched last year across Nokia and its licensees.”
“Was it strange then that discussion of S60 itself was notably low-key throughout the event? A day and a half of presentations ensued, with web-based mash-ups and user experience forming the focus of much of the discussion. Meanwhile, Nokia's understanding of and willingness to support a full range of web-derived technologies on top of S60 provided the backbone for that focus.”
“As such, it was easy to be left with the impression that the S60 platform itself is now seen as relatively unimportant. As a senior Nokia executive told Ovum, S60 - as he sees it - is now simply expected to be there. It's a given. (That's not to say that S60's value is any less great for that. It does, after all, provide a consistent platform from which to launch applications, something David Wood, Symbian Executive Vice President, Research, was naturally keen to remind delegates as the conference drew towards its close.)”
“Certainly those interested to hear about developments to S60 itself - to Symbian OS and the native application development and user interface pieces of S60 - were largely left looking for a forum for discussion and debate. Most obviously there was still no sign of S60's touch-screen support and the capabilities that segments of the industry perceive as being vital for Nokia to head off the iPhone and its amassing clone army.”
