Symbian Touts Capabilities In Face Of Rising Competition

Darryl K. Taft,

The Symbian Foundation has touted the strengths of its mobile platform as it faces an increasing challenge from rival mobile operating systems

Williams responded to these and other points, saying, “I am not sure where any one who knows how operating systems work-, task- and memory-manage gets the idea that there is a more capable or advanced system in mobile than Symbian. This is especially true when you look at a trifecta of hardware capability including a low-level application processor, a configuration with multiple RF [radio frequency] frequency capabilities, a high-end image encoding and decoding capability, and something that needs a day or two’s worth of battery life.”

Meanwhile, adding to the bold claims he made in his original post, Williams said:

“We can build on this core capability faster than others. Improvements to and a focus on usability by manufacturers, and broadening our hardware configuration support base will help us show any of the naysayers that this software platform has long legs. We are poised to obtain these gains through contributions, and a healthy ecosystem of partner companies and individuals. 2010 and 2011 will be very interesting in this way. Higher-end, high-volume products will not come out on any other platform.”

Williams also said Nokia’s endorsement of Symbian gives the platform a solid foundation for its role as being the “communications platform for the masses.”

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In other mobile development news, Mike Kirkup, director of developer relations at Research In Motion, in a blog post discussed many of the high points of RIM’s BlackBerry developer program for 2009, including:

  • Launch of the BlackBerry Developer’s Blog and technical webcast series! Over 200,000 Registered BlackBerry developers.
  • Doubled the size of the developer community over the past year with substantial international growth.
  • Launch of BlackBerry App World with follow up releases including a new client and a web store.
  • Launch of the Developer Issue Tracker providing an open environment for developers to submit issues and feature requests tracked against Research In Motion’s internal development queue. An industry first!
  • Best BlackBerry developer event ever with the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference.
  • BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge ends in a dramatic Final 16 showdown live at the BlackBerry Developer Conference and awards more than $250,000 (£156,000) in prizes.
  • Revamp of the BlackBerry Developer Zone making it easier to find what you are looking for, download tools and get started developing.