S60 Open to new features

How can this even be an issue?

A web browser without timely security updates is, quite frankly, useless (and more than a little scary). The browser in my poor old N80 crashes pretty much all the time, as soon as I try to view a moderately complex web page.

That almost certainly means security holes. Fixing security issues *must* be "technically and economically feasibly". Otherwise you really should get out of the internet browsing business, IMHO of course.

The S60 FPs don't exist outside of S60 marketing and the SDKs. Certainly no device is running an FP in any recognizable form.

That's not to say that update of these things would be impossible, but it's just not the reality of things today. They would have to exist as something discrete first.

Do you mean that every device has its own version of e.g. the web browser app, that is somehow tailored for this particular device?

No wonder you can't find the time or money to support all these versions...

Didn't I read some time ago that there were plans to release the updated web browser as a separate download?

People don't care so much about the FP level. It's about the applications that run on the phone (e.g. the browser).

I know we announced possibly distributing the browser separately at some point. I'd love to see that and many of the other apps (e.g. LifeBlog) follow the same model.

Posted by: PhoneBoy | June 12, 2007 09:14 PM

Wao! Thank You Tommi for raising my questions this high! It is an honor and I appreciate it!

You wrote earlier announcing a change of interest in your blog:
"Now, I work in a high-level strategy/planning team of the whole Nokia Software Platforms organization. Increasingly, writing about S60 apps feels a bit too niche as a topic."

And than you concluded:

"As it happens, my passion and authority area is increasingly moving from S60 applications to the blast furnace of Nokia software offering and the Internet."

And this is when I have gone "Bingo!" and asked the questions about the browser and maintenance strategy again in the old line of discussion about upgradeability of Feature packs and the browser…

I think that the issue of the browser for my E70, and widgets for the E90 are actually the same thing: It is about the S60 browser… working on the net (E70)… and working also locally in the device (widgets & E90)… This is also about Nokia being an internet company.

In a private e-mail to Pete, I wrote a few days ago that I consider the S60 web browser to be a corner stone of S60 and more: Nokia’s smart phone (Internet) strategy! I said to him, that in my opinion the success of Nokia’s S60 browser is crucial for both S60 and Nokia smart phones in general. Even if S60 will be followed by an evolutionary step, new versions and maybe more – a bit like your job description evolves –, leaving the S60 Browser out in the cold for “old” devices (with 2 years support) is not an option.

So in my opinion the fate of the S60 browser – be it connected or running locally (widgets) - could definitely be your strategic planning arena which is crucial for Nokia internet strategy, for S60, and let’s not forget them: developers and people who love Nokia products…

Recent news strengthen my view, when hearing Safari coming to windows and the S60 vs. S40 review concluding the S60 browser being a major reason to buy an S60 device...

I work in technology development (R&D project management) in a bit different field from yours, but I am very well aware that technology is just part of the big picture and some major strategic decisions are decided by politics. And I think this is why customers must sometimes make emotional statements… like mine: I love the E70, the S60 browser and Nokia!
Please love me back! … like … please give me the updated browser … ;-)

so I can save web pages… And E90 people can run widgets…

Thanks again & Best Regards!
Aron

p.s.: Is Ganesh coming to Helsinki so I could meet him and ask him personally?

p.s.2.: Sorry for the long note, but the other half of my thoughts is still in me. :-) Maybe I send those to your gmail account (there should be enough space). I hope to meet you at the S60 evening in Helsinki...

so what about the rumor in late march that said the new brower will be available for fp0 users in one month timeframe? was it all a bad joke?
that would be very sad since im really really much waiting for a browser update for my N80IE. i mean its called internet edition and does perform worse now then other non-ie cheapo phones like 6290.
i hope you guys can push out dat browser.

> so what about the rumor

You can't hold us responsible of all the rumours out there :)

All I know is that the guys in browser team told publicly that they heard your feedback, and that they would investigate and evaluate different options to get the browser update available for S60 3rd edition. I have no further knowledge about the issue, sorry.

There are no coincidences, right?...

Check the freshest topic in the Browser's team blog:

iPhone will be the first phone with a truly full-blown Web browser??!

http://blogs.s60.com/browser/2007/06/iphone_will_be_the_first_phone_1.html

In my opinion the S60 browser has been the first.
If you consider that the E70 has only 5% less pixel count than the iPhone what does that tell about the capability of displaying web pages???

But in order to stay in competition an upgarded browser would not hurt...
:-)))

I don't know if the browser in my N80 is "full-blown". But I do know that it blows.

Apparently, there is some new version of the browser that doesn't hang, crash or run out of memory every five or ten pages. But it seems that, despite the fact that N80 (and even more N80IE) was marketed as being able to browse the "real web", Nokia doesn't want to give us this updated version.

I find that a bit strange.

I'm considering buying Nokia E70 and what I'm reading here is kinda shocking!
Nokia's smartphone which costs now about 500EUR (You can get laptop at this price!) can't even have it's web browser updated ?
This smartphone is almost mobile computer. Unability to upgrade critical software, t's like telling me that I can't update my Firefox browser on my laptop and to do so, I have to buy new laptop.

Even if I want to update or reinstall Operating System on my laptop - I can do so. With Nokia smartphone I can't have new Feature Pack which is aimed at new devices with the same CPU and amount of RAM. Kinda silly :)

So, where is the reasoning behind such a strategy by Nokia ?
There are probably some discussion elsewhere answering all my questions and clarifying doubts, if so please point me there.

Cheers,
urs

Urs: we have had this discussion several times here in my blog, and a couple of times elsewhere. There are no official Nokia answers regarding this topic, only unofficial personal opinions by some Nokia bloggers (including me). At this point, I can't help you more. I'm sorry.

Tommi thanks for Your answer, I've done searches at Your blog and found this entry:
http://blogs.s60.com/tommi/2006/11/can_i_upgrade_my_nokia_exxnxx.html

which answers may questions :/