As many of you have shown interest in the happenings of the Foundation as we grow this new company and community, I wanted to post another in a series of looks in to our efforts and give you a sense of some of our progress.
Recently, we hosted a board of directors meeting, and while the topics we typically discuss are interesting, this time around we had a real gem. We had a team prepare a set of development environments, one for Apple iPhone, one for Google Android, and another for Symbian. We profiled the whole development chain for app creation. This included downloading and installing the tools and kits, exploring reference material, creating an application, signing, and publishing to the marketplace, and loading and using the apps on a device.
Note the video link of some of the event above. We thought it would be helpful for our board, and others in the Foundation to see first hand what this experience was like on different platforms. We have done more extensive analysis in the past, but there is nothing like seeing these things first hand, counting the number of steps, and looking at the real delta’s as it concerns ease of getting to the marketplace. This can help us focus our priorities and get the resources we need to really address some of the potential shortcomings in the approach we provide in our ecosystem.
Lastly, we have been bringing some very diverse people together, and at the leadership team level in particular. Most of us have never worked together before, and certainly not as one cohesive team. I find that team building exercises always help to focus a group of individuals, and accelerate the establishment of working practices. Not to mention the obvious, which is that it is good to take time out to simply get to know each other a little better.
We created a gourmet meal together, with the help of an excellent chef and his staff, and the end result was something to be proud of, especially once combined with the assistance of a good sommelier.
// Lee
The development environment comparison is a noble effort although a very complex task to do well. Will you be publishing the findings?
I hope the recipe for the chicken you cooked will be published under an MIT license too.
You must be kidding. You consider this video useful? Interesting? a demonstration of commitment????
Interesting, yes. A lot of people like to know what we are up to from time to time.
Here is the chicken recipe, and because I would rather type on this blog while I watch Wall-E with the boys for the umpteenth time
x number skinless chicken breasts
x slices of cooked ham
x slices of emmenthal cheese
.5x eggs, beaten
fresh bread crumbs or Japanese panko
salt and pepper
Lay out some cling film. Spread the chicken breast butterfly and cover with another piece of cling film. With a rolling pin bash the breasts to flatten out. Remove the top layer of cling film. Season with salt and pepper. Place a slice of ham and then cheese on each breast. Dip the underside in the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Roll the chicken and place on a tray with the seam down.
When all done saute’ each in a heavy based frying pan seam down first. This will prevent them from uncurling. When golden brown, transfer to a preheated oven at 180c and cook for 12-15 mins. Serve with a mushroom marsala sauce.
Now you have chicken cordon bleu. Available under more of an open commons license than anything. Contributions are welcome.
Thanks. That’s my dinner sorted.
Now, about that comparison… will we see that as quickly as the chicken recipe?
Edw3rd,
yes I personally do.
And you wanna know why? Because I’m an end customer (and fan of Symbian smartphones) who wants to know that the promises, plans, and work on the improvement of the platform are indeed happening somewhere somehow. If there is no documented progress I might well consider to invest my time and money (buying applications, that is) on another platform.
The video doesn’t show the “juice” a programmer might have wanted. But at least showed me the commitment I wanted to see for some issues risen here and in other forums. I noticed at 0:26 the screens of the computers (sporting Xcode) and that we have some head-on comparison and studying of the “archenemy”.
In my humble opinion, the main problem with Symbian nowdays is the lack of proof-of-concept applications. Fancy and interesting applications that will convince prospective mobile developers they can achieve and monetize with Symbian. Apple is a marketing juggernaut. It has an immense following by media (especially in the US, a weak market for Symbian) and iPhone applications sometimes get more attention than they really deserve. Well, this is the trick.
Study them and beat them in their own game (applications, games, etc). Hardware-wise they are FAR behind. But if Symbian doesn’t succeed in providing first-class tools to developers, it will inexorably lose its global market primate…
Ehm… why?
Totally agree.
Phones marketed with Symbian have almost always more features, better cameras, longer battery lives, higher screen resolutions, more business features, etc. Nevertheless, they never get so much attention because they don’t have the Apple-touch behind. The buzz!
Let’s take the Samsung i8910 HD (aka Omnia HD) for example. Better in almost all aspects, hardware-wise. But the phone will most probably only reach a fraction of iPhone’s media attention and sales because:
- there aren’t many extra “killer applications” out there
- Samsung has only recently launched its Mobile Innovator portal and still only few good developer tools exist
- Widgets are still a new technology
- Samsung is not Apple, no army of ecstatic fanboys and tech evengelists
among other reasons. Now imagine the same phone being rebranded as the Apple iPhone HD…
Once in a time i felt the same as you about iphone, but really iphones succes can’t be explained just because its “made by Apple”. Nokia as a brand dosen’t have anything to be shamed compared to Apple. There’s more people out there who will buy Nokia just because it’s Nokia rather than Apple.
While Samsung have given some nice boost to the device with it’s HW it fails to deliver much of anything new to UI even Nokia’s N97 with it’s ARM 11 architecture and 434 MHz proc looks better. Features are still very important and S60 is up there with it, but most people seem to be already happy with the past N95 features and are looking for something else.
All my hopes towards S60 are on Symbian^2 and how will Nokia, SE or Samsung make it work for them.. or even better wait for Maemo 5 phone.
@Kensai:
Apart from the Camera, that I can say is “better” in terms of MegaPixel (the 2MP of the iPhone and iPhone 3G is really not enough), and Screen resolution, seems like you are referring to “software features”.
And I totally agree that iPhone doesn’t have all the huge amount that Symbian has in terms of experience with phone software (first of all, Battery Life).
But, for example, iPhone and iPhone 3G were running on a ARM11 at ~400Mhz. The new 3GS at ~600Mhz. Always with Hardware Accelleration.
I saw the Samsung you are talking about: it’s like carrying around in your pocket a full size keyboard. Terrible!
I think, after 2 years of iPhone or more, we should stop saying that “iPhone sells because of the Apple fan”. Apple just teaches a lesson to everyone about “what phones can and should be”.
A bunch of Apple enthusiastic wouldn’t be able to drive the selling of millions of device an thousands of Apps. Let’s try to be real and rational here.
Apple deserves the success they have: it’s not only marketing. If it was only that, it would have result in a big fail.
An example? “Mac Book Air”: great design, superb advertisement, but, after 2/3 years, a major failure for Apple.
I agree with IvanDM. I think the iPhone does seem to have some killer apps. I wont know whichones to consider as killer apps though.
Otherwise, how do you imagine buyers queuing up since the previous night to get their hands on an iPhone the very first day of release?
Lets take this argument to a different world.
iPod versus other mp3/portable music players (Sony / Phillips etc.,).
I believe that the iPod has been a mega success while the others have had a so-so share / success. I cannot prove that I am right by pointing to some link, but I guess I am right this is the case.
So may be Apple has something that everyone else has missed. It could be feature / technology / marketing / style / hype or a combination of all these perhaps.
C’mon, if they had placed a smaller screen (to make it overall smaller) the main customer targets would have cried: why you give us HD capabilities and then put a puny little screen?
Nobody will be ever 100% pleased from what they see. For my taste it’s a big phone indeed, but that screen and photo/video features demand, so to speak, a big trend-setting screen. And the 3.7″ AMOLED delivers.
—
I liked the Omnia HD for another reason. Because it is the first Symbian smartphone that actually feels snappy (see also this benchmark) for a great experience. The capacitive screen, the widgets, the transitions. All work in a fantastic way. Too bad when you go to the applications you find some good ones, but only a couple of them… the real gap with “the other phone”.
True! I believe it’s the hundreds of extra apps the iPhone has. Too bad I can’t prove it…
My two suggestions:
1. Speed: speed (I use e61i) needs to be improved overall a lot. My email app takes about 5-6 seconds to open.
2. Fonts: There are lot of smartphone users over 40 and many of these including myself) need larger font size as a standard feature built within the OS, so that any app can use it. Right now I have a very good size screen for e61i, but every time i have to dial from address book, or i have to read a new sms just received, i have to pull out my reading glasses. Not very easy or convinient to do if one is on the road or just walkin around house.