Nokia invigorates old Symbians with Anna
Belle slips out too
Nokia's latest mobile OS, Symbian Anna, is already appearing on new handsets, but today the Finnish phone giant launched an update to bring owners of various other models up to scratch too.
Available for N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 users, the patch packs a fresh UI, portrait-aligned Qwerty keypad, split-screen messaging and, where the hardware's there, NFC capabilities. It also claims more detailed satnav maps and speedier browsing.
Those of you interesting in upgrading, download Anna through the latest Ovi Suite 3.1.1 or with an OTA update. For detailed instructions on how, check out NokNok.tv's easy-step guide.
Meanwhile, unofficial leaks of Nokia's next OS, Symbian Belle, have also started to crop up online for the Nokia N8.
The company has only recently revealed handsets that run on Belle, which introduces features such as Android-style drop down notifications and a 'Task Switcher' for jumping between and closing down running applications.
Customers with an N8 who would like to try the Belle OS can find it on the DailyMobile forums, however should be cautious as it is not an official download from Nokia. ®
COMMENTS
"Task Switcher"?
Symbian's had a task switcher for longer than Android's existed...
Very nice
I've been running Anna for a week or so on my N8 but as they say, most of the improvements were under the hood, I didn't notice all that much of a change especially since I already run the latest Maps and stuff from Nokia Beta Labs.
I wasn't expecting much from Belle either but I installed it yesterday and I have to say it's a different kettle of fish entirely. There are a few problems, most noticeable for me is that neither Opera Mobile nor Mini work (although the Java version does) but that's probably just a case of waiting until they update the app. But overall I have to give it a huge thumbs up, it really is that good. The N8 was already the best phone out there for me and this is just the icing on the cake.
After using it for a day I really cannot understand why Elop threw it all away as imo the plan to go QT would have worked, what a twat.
'Task Switcher'
'Task Switcher' for jumping between and closing down running applications.
Eh? Hasn't Symbian always had that?
Used to love nokia
I have always liked Nokia hardware, its just their software that was crap. it was good enough back in the day but they added layer on layer of complexity with no thought to how easy it was to actually access. Heres to hoping they get their house in order and do something about that notwithstanding their latest microsoft deal.
Customer Support
These phones will be supported for another few years. It's something Nokia have always done, apparently, although if you've only ever had contract phones, you'd never realise it.
Normally, what used to happen was the mobile operators couldn't be arsed to sign off on their "special" versions of the firmware, so the end-users never get the updates. Oddly enough, customers who are sick of their phone's problems tend to buy new ones, complete with new 12-month contracts. Win-win for the operators, lose-lose for the customers, and until recently win-lose for Nokia (win a sale due to lack of choices but lose customer loyalty)
Future phones will use WP7, but Symbian has another few years of life in the middle of the market, where WP7's minimum spec stops it being cost-effective.
