How many of you here remember Symbian UIQ, Symbian S60, and Symbian S80? These were the three branches of the Symbian OS some years back. While all Symbian at the core, they were different in capabilities and user interface. Oh, and Symbian S60 alone had some further fragments – S60 3rd Edition (feature pack 1, feature pack 2, feature pack 3) and S60 5th Edition. Crazy; right?

Symbian was severely criticised a few years back for this sort of fragmentation.

Amazingly, that level of fragmentation is what we now find with Android OS. As at last count, we have Android 1.6, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, Android 2.3 (and its variants). Now to make matters worse, we have Baidu’s Yi (customised from Android) and Amazon’s custom Android OS, producing two outright branches or forks away from plain Android.

I was one of those who said that this sort of fragmentation was going to happen on Android, though I took heavy flak for it.

How will the developer community respond to this? Will consumers find this fragmentation confusing? What happens when apps that run on standard Android do not run on Yi or Amazon’s custom job? Already, there are apps that run on Android 2.2 devices but not their 2.1 counterparts.

What do you think Have your say!

Progressively more people are adopting smartphones as their primary means of accessing the internet. These ’toys’ are getting embellished with gargantuan volumes of memory. They are no longer ‘playthings’. These devices are gradually performing lots of roles that our computers used to perform in the recent past.

With increasing dependence on these devices, as well as their ‘always connected’ status, it becomes imperative that we protect ourselves (read-> data) from malware. Malware like viruses, trojans, and worms. The nomenclature we give these things does not matter. The important thing is to acknowledge, and know that a particular application on your phone may be surreptitiously doing other things without your knowledge (or wish). Take a look at this case of an Android Trojan spying on your conversations.

In the case of Apple’s iOS, the rigorous testing of apps for approval may make it difficult to get maliciously phone on your UNjailbroken device. But we all know that lots of people do jailbreak, opening up your phone to apps whose intention may not always be altruistic.

On Google’s Android and Nokia’s Symbian Operating Systems, the danger is theoretically even greater. Some users obtain apps from all sorts of sources. Thus, those users can inadvertently get infected with an app that disguises its true intention.

In recent times, there have been all sorts of Trojans on the Android platform. The more recent one (which prompted this write-up) is a Trojan that records your conversations in a lightweight format – and secretly sends them to a server somewhere. Can you beat that? If a Trojan can do that, it can do practically anything (deplete your credit, transfer your email addresses, e.t.c. The inventiveness is only left to the Authority of that Trojan. Imagine a Trojan than can initiate electronic banking / transfer funds – in the night while you sleep!)

Some school of thought would have us believe that the Symbian OS is impervious to viruses. I will not argue this point in this instance (although I have my reasons to doubt that arrogant assertion). The important thing is to err on the side of caution.

How do we insulate ourselves from the (possible) threat of malware? Some things that come to my mind as to how to combat this increasing malware menace are as follows:

- Only use applications from sources you trust, if you can (I do not follow this advice myself)

- When using an OS that allows you set different kinds of permissions for individual apps (say Android), take your time, and give profound thinking to set those permissions carefully.

- Install an app that logs the activities of apps that access / try to access – the internet, and warns you immediately. SPB Wireless Monitor (on Symbian) works well for me.

- Do not jailbreak, hack or root your device (another prescription I
do not follow myself)

Those are the things that come off the top of my dome, off hand.

What do you think? What other things can protection us from these malicious coders and their injurious code?

I thought it would be a good idea to present the status of the various mobile application stores at a glance for your convenience:

1. Apple App Store: 425,000 applications
2. Android Market: 250,000+ applications
3. Nokia Store: 50,000 applications
4. Blackberry App World: 38,000+ applications
5. Windows Marketplace: 27,500 applications
6. Bada apps in Samsung Store: 13,000+ applications
7. WebOS Store: 6,000+ applications

I have tried to get the most up-to-date figures. If anyone has more recent figures, do get in touch so I can adjust these. In the meantime, hope someone finds this info useful.

I have been using the Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic for close to two years now. This is one device that I have used to near destruction. It is packed full of really useful applications that I use on a day-to-day basis. Some of these applications I would not want to do without. It is the primary reason I have tenaciously hung on to Symbian (s60V5) for so long.

While I could almost keep using this particular phone for eternity (it meets my mobile needs), it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to get the kind of functionality that I crave from the device.

True; I have as divergent an array of functional applications as a man could wish for on Symbian, but – and this is the big but – the limited onboard memory of the Nokia 5800 is finally beginning to cramp my style.

I have always embraced the principle of having as few background tasks as possible running. This is to ensure minimal battery consumption, enhance system stability and make judicious use of my lean memory.

However, I am beginning to hit a brick wall.

I am unable to make use of some applications (e.g. Opera Mobile and SPB Mobile Shell) without having to shut down ALL other running apps! The problem here is that there some apps I am unwilling to EVER shut down!

These apps run in the background and are essential for me. As such, they must remain in memory at ALL times. I list them below:

1. SPB WireLess Monitor – This app monitors data traffic usage other things). It warns me when I hit a predetermined (by me) data consumption level.
2. JBak TaskManager – Manages processes and task switching on the phone (among other things)
3. SmartLight – perpetually keeps the screen display ‘on’ – except when on the the ‘Home Screen’. Great while reading an ebook, or browsing the web.
4. SBSH PocketLock – Has rendered the physical screenlock switch superfluous and redundant.
5. Handy BlackList – allows me to keep unwanted calls / callers off my phone
6. Total ReCall – automatically record conversations on the phone
7. Smartbian AutoHangUp – automatically disconnect a call after a specified duration
8. Virtual KeyBoard – allows you run most apps designed for ‘physical keypadded’ devices on your touchScreen
9. Magic Message Manager – automatically categorizes smss into defined folders (among other things) – as they arrive / as they are sent.
10. Youlu Address Book – an awesome contacts management (among other things)
11. Swype.

I have mentioned about ten apps up there – apps that have to remain perpetually in memory to be useful.

There are others I would love to have running (Handy alarm, Handy Profile, PlanTask, Emoze, Nimbuzz, WhatsApp, SmartSettings), but as can be seen, this will quickly get the phone hitting its threshold on memory!

Thus, getting the best out of this ‘memory-starved device’ entails perpetually having to keep exiting and restarting applications to free memory.

It would therefore seem that the amount of memory available after booting up a device is critical (where swapping-to-disk as you have on PCs is not as refined).

When I eventually dump this Nokia 5800, the volume of available memory will be the first feature I will look for).

Will I jump to another platform? Not likely! I am not willing to ‘gamble’ on any platform that has ‘immature’ / pseudo-multitasking abilities. iOS and Android come to mind.

I will, of course, stick to Symbian devices until Symbian is killed, dies, or the other immature OSes ‘grow up’ on more efficient resource management.

The above infographic should serve as a guide for developers targeting the African continent.

Source: Afrographique

It is fast becoming the age of the smartphone. Smartphones are selling like hotcakes and taking more bites out of phone sales statistics. Still, one sore issue that is observed is that of battery life.

What do we expect? 4-inch touchscreen displays, always-on data, multi-tasking, +1GHz processors and a host of other features all mean that there is a greater demand on our smartphones’ batteries.

Android OS is one of the greatest culprit in this regard. Apparently, we need to make our robots more energy-efficient. Those droids simply guzzle power like mad.

Another power-inefficient mobile OS at the moment is Windows Phone. I have used two WP7 devices, and they both suck badly with regards to battery consumption.

Another battery sucker is Maemo (evolving into MeeGo). As much as I loved the N900, I had to let it go because of the battery life.

I also owned and used a Palm Pre running WebOS, and it was disastrous, battery-wise. It certainly was the worst case of poor battery life that I had ever encountered. Whether this is a WebOS trait in general or it was an isolated case, I have no idea.

The Winners
It is no news that Symbian has remained legendary with regards energy efficiency. That old horse just can’t be beat. Devices running Symbian keep going long after the average Android, Windows Phone and Maemo toy has given up.

Sadly, Symbian is on the way out, though not until 2016. I will repeat – Symbian OS is too good to dump. It does so many things well and has improved so fast and markedly that it should be retained. It doesn’t seem to make much sense dumping it now when it’s just getting better and better.

PS: In adopting WP as a primary smartphone platform, do we take it that there should be a secondary? Why not? Retain Symbian as secondary, and problem solved.

Anyway, life goes on. Moving away from Symbian, there is only one other major smartphone OS that delivers exemplary battery life that I am aware of. Yes; iOS.

iOS has come a long way in terms of battery life. The first generations of iPhones had piss-poor battery life, but things have changed dramatically.

With more features now, iOS has been optimised to deliver even better battery life across both iPhones and iPad ranges.

For those that want to stay truly mobile i.e. Not tied to carrying a cable around and looking for something to plug their smartphones to by mid-day, you are better off looking in the direction of Symbian or iOS. That’s just the way it is. For now.

Hopefully, we shall see better power optimisation on other platforms in a little while. In the meantime, if I had no Symbian device that meets my needs, and I had to look elsewhere right now, I am afraid it would have to be in the direction of Steve Job’s reality distortion field. Battery life is at the top of my mobile requirements. It just doesn’t matter what a mobile device can do if it doesn’t let me do it away from a charger.

Your thoughts, guys?

Espoo, Finland and Redmond, US – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement on a partnership that will result in a new global mobile ecosystem, utilizing the very complementary assets of both companies. Completed ahead of schedule, the definitive agreement is consistent with the joint announcement made on February 11.

In addition to agreeing to the terms of their partnership, including joint contributions to the development of the new ecosystem, Nokia and Microsoft also announced significant progress on the development of the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone. With hundreds of personnel already engaged on joint engineering efforts, the companies are collaborating on a portfolio of new Nokia devices. Nokia has also started porting key applications and services to operate on Windows Phone and joint outreach has begun to third party application developers.

“At the highest level, we have entered into a win-win partnership,” said Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia Corporation. “It is the complementary nature of our assets, and the overall competitiveness of that combined offering, that is the foundation of our relationship.”

“Our agreement is good for the industry,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “Together, Nokia and Microsoft will innovate with greater speed, and provide enhanced opportunities for consumers and our partners to share in the success of our ecosystem.”

The relationship is structured around four broad areas:

1. A combination of complementary assets, which make the partnership truly unique, including:

- Nokia to deliver mapping, navigation, and certain location-based services to the Windows Phone ecosystem. Nokia will build innovation on top of the Windows Phone platform in areas such as imaging, while contributing expertise on hardware design and language support, and helping to drive the development of the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft will provide Bing search services across the Nokia device portfolio as well as contributing strength in productivity, advertising, gaming, social media and a variety of other services. The combination of navigation with advertising and search will enable better monetization of Nokia’s navigation assets and completely new forms of advertising revenue.

- Joint developer outreach and application sourcing, to support the creation of new local and global applications, including making Windows Phone developer registration free for all Nokia developers.

- Opening a new Nokia-branded global application store that leverages the Windows Marketplace infrastructure. Developers will be able to publish and distribute applications through a single developer portal to hundreds of millions of consumers that use Windows Phone, Symbian and Series 40 devices.

- Contribution of Nokia’s expertise in operator billing to ensure participants in the Windows Phone ecosystem can take advantage of Nokia’s billing agreements with 112 operators in 36 markets.

2. Microsoft will receive a running royalty from Nokia for the Windows Phone platform, starting when the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone ship. The royalty payments are competitive and reflect the large volumes that Nokia expects to ship, as well as a variety of other considerations related to engineering work to which both companies are committed. Microsoft delivering the Windows Phone platform to Nokia will enable Nokia to significantly reduce operating expenses.

3. In recognition of the unique nature of Nokia’s agreement with Microsoft and the contributions that Nokia is providing, Nokia will receive payments measured in the billions of dollars.

4. An agreement that recognizes the value of intellectual property and puts in place mechanisms for exchanging rights to intellectual property. Nokia will receive substantial payments under the agreement.

With the definitive agreement now signed, both companies will begin engaging with operators, developers and other partners to help the industry understand the benefits of joining the new ecosystem. At the same time, work will continue on developing Nokia products on the Windows Phone platform, with the aim of securing volume device shipments in 2012. The scale of both companies’ mutual commitment is significant and is in keeping with the intention to build a new ecosystem based on this long-term, strategic partnership.

About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in virtually every market in the world. Through Ovi (www.ovi.com), people also enjoy access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store, a growing catalog of digital music, free email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and professional services globally.

Source

In the world of smartphones, I have been around for a long, long time. I was using smartphones before the average person ever heard the word. You know, I actually used ancestors to the smartphone – devices like the Ericsson R380s and the Motorola A008 Accompli. I know a few other individuals who have been around for long too. And, just like me, they seem to be finding it difficult to transition from the old order to the new.

By old order, I refer to older platforms like Windows Mobile and Symbian. Of course, platforms like iOS, Android and Windowsphone constitute the new.

Why is this transition so difficult for this class of people? In all probability, the reasons vary, but I can present a few – Battery life, hardware QWERTY keyboards, and OS versatility/integration for mission-critical tasks.

I remember the days that my budding webhosting company (now Alireta) was run entirely on a Nokia 9500 Communicator (Symbian Series 80 – anyone remember that platform?). Taking orders, processing them, setting up accounts and supporting clients were activities that the bricky 9500 handled without stress. More impressive is the fact that the battery went on and on despite the work abuse that the device was subjected to.

Years later, none of these new kids on the block provide the same functionality without needing a recharge every 3 hours. I get frustrated at the pitiful battery life on these new devices even when used sparingly. When used intensively, its just a bloody shame.

Let’s not even get started about the touchscreen craze. For serious work, a good, hardware QWERTY keyboard always does a better job. Regardless of how good on-screen keyboards are, with a hardware QWERTY, you type faster, special characters are easier to type, you make less errors and also you do not have to sacrifice half the display when typing (this is important when executing mission-critical tasks). The best-case scenario is a software-assisted hardware keyboard, which we are already seeing as implemented on the Nokia E7.

By mission-critical tasks, I mean those tasks that the average phone reviewer almost never mentions (whether deliberately or simply by omission). We are talking about smartphones and tablets as mini computers, and yet the average smartphone review ignores the nitty-gritty of tasks required by people who want to use their devices for serious work.

Take our recent sour experience with text copy-and-paste on two Android devices as an example. Try attaching a file to an outgoing email on Windowsphone 7, and you are given the option to select only media files from the gallery. Hello!? Where’s USB mass storage mode on iOS and WP7? And where’s USB-on-the-go apart from Symbian and Maemo/MeeGo?

Can someone give us a new OS that is compelling enough to let us simply get our work done? Its almost looking like the whole world only wants to play – swipe, watch video, chat on Facebook, tweet, and play music. Sigh.

Mobility Nigeria contributor, Brym!, is another individual from the old guard. He still tots a Sony Ericsson P1i running Symbian UIQ (why on earth was that platform killed off?) and a Samsung B7610 Omnia Pro (running Windows Mobile6.5). More shocking is the fact that he still finds those devices capable and can’t point out any viable upgrades in the market.

Personally, everytime I drop my Nokia N8 for a device on another platform, it does not take more than a few days before I begin to pine (to yearn deeply; suffer with longing; long painfully) for the N8 again. Dayo knows how many times I say something like, “To blazes with the fancy UI“, pull my SIM out of the offending phone and slot it back into the N8.

The question is, What does the future hold for dinosaurs like Brym, Dayo and I? Will we go extinct with this ice age, or will someone somewhere come up with a mobile platform and devices that are compelling enough for us to switch to without withdrawal symptoms?

Now, I know that I have stirred the hornet’s nest with this piece, but hey, go ahead, have your say. The comment area is all yours.

PS: Does anyone know what Nokia actually meant by Symbian becoming a “franchise OS”? I wouldn’t mind licensing Symbian and creating a new mobile line-up of smartphones tailored to meet the specific needs of mobile dinosaurs after Nokia has completed transition to WP7. Brym, what shall we call the brand?

I know that the headline is sensational, but you’ll see why I put it that way when you are through with the article. I am known to be the voice of reason, and I am not known that way for nothing, so don’t worry yourself about me going crazy. Let’s start upfront by ensuring that we all understand the basis of this article. Mobile blogosphere has been awash with a number of interesting articles in the last few days.

First, Tomi Ahonen published a detailed analysis of Nokia’s current strategy. Titled Some Symbian Sanity – why Nokia will not join Google Android or Microsoft Phone 7, his article put it better than I could have, and it is an understatement to say that I agree with his analysis. Nokia adopting any other OS apart from their own home-grown solution is suicidal.

Tomi’s article was promptly followed by a rebuttal by Robert Scoble in an article titled Why Nokia is still doomed, no matter how many words Tomi Ahonen writes. The rebuttal did not really address the issues that Tomi outlined in his original article.

Then Michael Mace published What’s really wrong with BlackBerry (and what to do about it) and again Tomi responded with Great Analysis by Michael Mace, yet is Completely Not Relevant to RIM ie Blackberry. Actually, Michael Mace’s article is more relevant to the iPhone than to Blackberry, as we shall see later in this article.

It all makes for enjoyable reading, but the terrible and mostly unfounded attacks against Nokia/Symbian are just amusing. I keep on asking, and no-one has provided an answer –

1. How can a mobile OS that keeps seeing increased sales be rightly said to be doomed?
2. How can a mobile OS that keeps on improving be rightly said to be doomed?
3. How can a mobile OS that sells more than its three (or four) closest competitors all put together be rightly said to be doomed?
4. Why are the same people not singing the death of WebOS and Windows Phone 7, seeing that they have negligible market share? (the Nokia N8 alone is reported to be selling more than all the existing WP7 devices combined)

It is looking to me like some people have decided to ignore facts on ground. Or, they are only looking at the U.S. market where Nokia/Symbian have never had a strong following – and then pushing US realities as reflective of the total picture. And they are so wrong.

The meat of this article
Industry statistics indicate that iPhone sales for the first time flattened out from Q3 2009 to Q2 2010, standing at a rough average of 8.3 million devices sold per quarter (note this is smartphone figures only; iPods and iPads are excluded). This is inspite of the fact that the iPhone iwas now available in more countries and on more networks than ever before. Yet; the iPhone was not selling more. It was not experiencing any increase in sales.

Note: Symbian, the said “dead” and “doomed” OS was, and still is, witnessing increased sales.

From the records, iPhone sales seemed to be stagnating. Better put, it seemed to have stagnated. iPhone 4 sales have boosted things up again, but over the next few months, we are likely to see signs of that stagnation again. Android is experiencing rapid increase in sales but isn’t selling as much as Symbian yet. Symbian is still selling more than Android – and somehow, some people keep screaming that Symbian is dead and all is well with the competition.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need to think again. Do I think the iPhone is doomed because of any of the above figures? I’d be a fool to think such a thing. The iPhone isn’t dying off anytime soon. But it is showing signs of trouble more than Symbian is. When your product is in more stores, on more networks, in more countries and is not selling more, that is a sign of trouble. Stagnation.

Question: So, why do people think that an OS that survived the onslaught of the iOS and Android over the last number of years and is still not just outselling them, but still seeing an increase in sales doomed? When will this anti-Nokia, anti-Symbian joke stop?

Now, you know why I used that heading. If we look at the statistics on ground, Symbian is experiencing sales growth; iOS (iPhone only) has flattened out. If Symbian is dead, iOS is dead and buried. That’s the analogy behind my heading.

Conclusions
I think that Nokia/Symbian bashing makes for good publicity, so lots of (mostly American) blogs have a go and get increased site traffic, and become (more) famous. It is a good way to get heavy traffic.

Me, I’ll just stay here telling it as it is, and when all the hype dies down (as it always will, sooner or later), I’ll still be here telling it as it is.

Years ago when the web hosting was starting off in the country, there were lots of guys around the place serving hype and raising lots of dust. Not one of them is anywhere in the public eye today. They all faded away and their names are history. Me? I’m still there in the web hosting industry keeping my head together (though there are some days I’ve been tempted to tear my hair off), and serving a mostly satisfied clientele numbering several hundreds. I’m still here. I earned the right to be listened to.

Many Nigerian webhosts have sprung up and died since 2003 when I got in as a pioneer. My company, Alireta (formerly DomainStandard.net), is still here. If you are looking for a webhost that won’t disappear tomorrow, you know where to look.

Yes; I just did some shameless self-plugging there

Back to mobile, all platforms have their strengths and weaknesses – and fanboys to boot. Want some advice from me? Sit down, shut your ears to the hype, find what works for you, and buy it.

Mobile user interfaces have been a subject of heated discussion in the last few years. There seems to be a chorus that any keen mobile enthusiast must be aware of by now – and possibly repeated too. In this article, I will use the user interfaces of the two top mobile OSes as examples.

It goes something like “Symbian is dated; Android is sleek“; “The Symbian folder menu system is unintuitive. You have to go into folders to get to the app you want“. Usually, those commenting are so enarmoured with the swiping that they do on Android that they do not see that they are simply biased.

Left: Flat menu system; Right: Folder menu system

A few weeks ago when Dayo and I met to discuss towards Mobility Nigeria’s maiden Smartphone Show, we discussed mobile user interfaces. As we both explored the subject, we arrived at the same conclusion that both the folder menu system (Symbian) and the flat menu system (Android) are simply equal alternatives to solving the same problem.

The Problem
Basically, the problem is that the main menu (and indeed any single menu) page on any mobile device is insufficient to display all the apps on the phone. In order words, there must be a means of getting to the other apps that don’t fit into the main menu.

The Solutions
Mobile UI designers have taken two major approaches – the folder-based menu system and the flat menu system.

With the folder menu system, the user has to tap to get into a folder to access other apps. That’s one step beyond the main menu. Android fanboys regularly lash out at this extra step of tapping to enter a folder.

With the flat menu system, the user has to swipe to open another page to access other apps. That is also one step beyond the main menu. Both menu systems require that extra action. One is not more intuitive than the other. They are simply alternative solutions to the same problem.

In many cases, on flat menu devices (read android), you have to swipe through up to five (5) pages to reach some apps. I know how many reviews of Android devices that I have read in which die-hard Android users themselves mention that they often have trouble remembering what page an app is – and they have to swipe around to find it.

What people need to see is that the question of whether you are tapping or swiping is simply a matter of personal preference. While swiping may seem like more fun to some people, it can be even more time-wasting and energy-dissipating than tapping through folders to look for apps. You see, folders are usually aptly named, making it easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you know not to tap a folder named “Media” when looking for your calendar app. It can be argued that the folder menu system is more user-friendly.

I have used both devices with folder and flat menu systems and I honestly do not see how the flat system is superior to the folder system. I mentioned in my recent review of the Symbian-powered Nokia E5 that I did not see what was “dated” (as people say) about the Symbian user interface (S60 5th Edition had other issues of inconsistency in number of taps – and that has been noted to have been rectifed in the new Symbian touch UI).

What Is Wrong With Those Icons?
It is ridiculous, I know, but I keep reading about the Symbian icons being dated. I have taken a look at icons from iOS, Android, and Symbian and can not honestly tell what that means.

Perhaps what is going on simply is what is encapsuled in the popular saying, “Familiarity brings contempt“? Maybe people just gripe about Symbian icons because they are familiar. You know, there is always the excitement associated with new things.

Other Issues

Now, I recognise that there are valid gripes with Symbian. For example, that web browser is a dinosaur. No text reflow? No way to open new tabs? Slow javascript rendering? Now, those are valid issues. We are waiting for the new browser supposedly coming in February 2011.

There are probably a few other valid issues. However, whatever is the problem with Symbian, it is not the folder menu system and it is certainly not the icons. If we are going to criticize, it is important that we present credible criticism.

Comments Welcome
Please keep your comments to the subject of mobile user interface. I know how easy it is for fanboys to jump in to defend their platform with every other argument but those concerning what is being discussed. Comments that stray outside of mobile interfaces will simply be trashed. Seriously.

For the records, my current smartphone is an Android device, and I love it to bits. I plan on replacing it soon out of necessity, but I have no Symbian device in view. As a matter of fact, all the devices that I am eyeing as replacements all run Android. There.

Just when we thought that the mobile operating system (OS) system had gotten hot enough with the introduction of OSX, Android, and Web OS, Samsung has pulled a rabbit out of their hat and its bada!

Bada is a new open platform that enables a richer user experience in applications on Samsung mobile devices.

Samsung claims that Bada will enable developers to create applications for millions of new Samsung mobile phones, and consumers to enjoy a fun and diverse mobile experience.

Source: Samsung Launches Open Mobile Platform

Symbian. Windows Mobile. Palm. Blackberry. OSX. Android. Maemo.

These are all mobile operating systems (OS). Some have been around longer than others. The new kids on the block are OSX and Android, and they are having their day. While Palm is an old platform, the complete revamp that has been executed on the OS has transformed its hitherto dated interface into something hip and up-to-date, just as obtains on the newer kids.

Symbian, the world’s most widely used mobile OS, has also undergone a revamp with the S60 5th Edition, but with not quite an elegant result as Palm. I have been “Symbian Inside” for the most of my mobile life, having used S80 (Nokia 9500), UIQ (P990, P1i) and S60 (E61, E61i, E90, E75) devices for years.

I have not hidden my position that Symbian as it currently is needs a serious facelift of its user interface to get up-to-date with current fads in the industry. I have even held that position strongly. But there seem to be those who think that Symbian is actually going to die off. I seriously doubt that. At least not anytime soon.

If what Nokia has pulled off on the N900 tablet-phone is anything to go by, those who have prophesied Symbian’s death because of what seemed Nokia’s inability to implement a fancy user interface can start recanting. Nokia has shown that they are capable.

We must note that the current fancy user interfaces are touchscreen based. Unfortunately, unless there is a massive change in the general direction of mobile users, the statistics till date shows that the majority of users prefer regular type phones with a physical keypad. In this field, Nokia still holds the fort.

I submit that Symbian is likely to remain the dominant mobile OS for a long time. Current trends suggest that Android will take the 2nd place quickly.

One of the advantages that Symbian has is what will help Android achieve this feat. Both Symbian and Android are licenced by numerous manufacturers, some of which are adding layers of services, functionality and usabilty to the underlying operatiing systems.

Already, we have multiple Android devices from HTC, Motorola, and Samsung respectively on the ground. More are on the way from Acer, Sony Ericsson, LG and others.

The other operating systems are generally mono-products – the iPhone which runs OSX is manufactured by only Apple; Blackberries are manufactured by only RIM, and Palm devices by only Palm.

The only other widely licensed mobile OS is Windows Mobile. The recently launched Windows Mobile 6.5 is a good upgrade, but leaves much to be desired. Hopefully, version 7 will bring this venerable OS up-to-speed and then we can see how things go from there.

One thing that is unarguable, however, is that exciting times are ahead in the mobile OS field. Whatever operating system you root for, the months and years ahead promise much.