3 posts tagged “symbian”

A great perk of my job at Nokia is obviously getting cool Nokia devices to use / play with (currently the proud owner of a Nokia E90). But being a gadget lover also means I'm interested in other companies' devices as well. I've previously owned Samsungs and Motorolas, as well as played with some other brands. But for some reason, I've never had a chance to use a SonyEricsson. Well, as luck will have it, I found a way to get my hands on not one, but three SE devices next month, for a week each. I believe one of them is a Symbian device too. It'll be interesting to use non-Nokia phones for a while... I'm still debating whether I should stop using my E90 completely during that time, i.e. use the SE phones as my primary (and only) device. It'll be tough... I'll be really lost without my E90, but we'll see.

Here are the devices that I'll be getting, in order:

1. SonyEricsson M600i
2. SonyEricsson W880i
3. SonyEricsson K800i
   

I'm sure there are lots of reviews on these phones already, but mine will be a story about a Nokia user thrown into an SE world. I'm starting with the Symbian-based M600i to ease the transition a little bit. If there's anything specific you'd like me to find out about any of the devices, please let me know. Otherwise I won't be doing any thorough reviews, but just using them for daily tasks that I might use my E90 (and other Nokias) for.

December adventures in Finland with 3 SE phones. Stay tuned.

This position is based in Irving, TX.

We are seeking Symbian Developer to work on a wireless platform project.
 
Duties / Responsibilities:
 
Seeking a Senior Software Engineer to complete an approximate 1 year contract.  This position is responsible for specifying, planning, reporting, designing and testing in his/her project area.  This position must be effective in working independently and as part of a team.  This position coaches other team members in solving engineering problems. Solves complex engineering problems of own technology area. Typically participates in reviews of own or neighboring projects. Occasionally may undertake technical training responsibilities.
 
This position acts with independence & discretion in routine matters and is responsible for making decisions that affect own work.  May act as Leader or Project Leader with some direct supervisory responsibilities, in addition to own work assignments.  Variety of complex tasks within area or responsibility. Demonstrates initiative & contributes to problem.
Typically 8 or more years relevant experience.

-Symbian OS development knowledge
-MTM (Message Type Module) development experience
-Knowledge of OO (Object Oriented) design principles
-Experience developing software for an embedded system
-Technical familiarity with email protocols
-Fluent C++ knowledge
-Perl

Please contact recruiter Marcie directly as follows, but you can mention that you learnt about this opportunity from me (Carol Chen):

Marcie Shaffer
Technical Recruiter
The People Network, Inc.
770-558-1707 (W)
678-793-4277 (M)
marcie@peoplenetwork.com

I've been tagged by Stefan to list all the Symbian devices that I've had in my purse at one time or other. It took me a while to come up with the list... I didn't even realize I have been using Symbian devices for 4 years now! And the list is quite long too, to my own amazement. Interesting how these meme things help me discover not just more about others but also about myself...

Without further ado, here are the devices that I can remember using as a personal phone anywhere from a few days to 2 years. And yes, most are prototypes. And SOS = Symbian OS.

1. Nokia 3620, SOS 6.1, S60 1st Ed FP1. Marking my first Symbian experience around March 2003, after working with mostly Series 30 and 40 phones. It's the then-popular 3650 with regular keypad instead of the awkward circular one, as well as 850Mhz band.
2. Nokia 6620, SOS 7.0s, S60 2nd Ed FP1. Moved from a Mobile phones product group to Series 60 (before it became "S60") platform group. I only used this for about a month, but it's significant because it's my introduction to S60 2nd Edition, and the longest wait between two Symbian devices for me (more than a year).
3. Nokia 6630, SOS 8.0a, S60 2nd Ed FP2. My team spent countless weeknights and weekends (including my first trip to Finland) to deliver the video engine for this phone. It has been my primary device for the longest time, from Q3 2004 to Q3 2006. Although there was a break of a few months when my handbag was stolen in Vienna and the phone was in it... so I had to find a replacement. (And the one in the bag was a retail unit, not a proto!!). Many people don't like its funky shape, but I kinda adore that... 6630 will always have a special place in my heart. I even bought a pretty purple faceplate for it.
   
4. Nokia 7710, SOS 7.0s, Series 90. I think this is the only Series 90 device ever sold. Shortly after, Series 90 merged with Series 60 and became S60. 7710 has a touch screen and supports DVB-H. I used it on and off throughout 2005.
5. Nokia 6680, SOS 8.0a, S60 2nd Ed FP2. Started using this when I lost my first 6630. The two are very similar actually. However the 6680 I had was an early prototype and many things didn't work well, including the camera (which didn't work at all) so I chucked it in a corner of my drawer after less than 2 months.
6. Nokia N90, SOS 8.1a, S60 2nd Ed FP3. Another reason why I gave up on the 6680 so quickly is because I got my hands on the N90, my first NSeries device! I think it was the first flip and twist "camcorder" form factor, the predecessor of the N93. The picture quality from it was quite good actually (is this the first one with Carl Zeiss optics?), but my impression was that the FP3 was slower than FP2. Plus it was kinda bulky. Plus it was a flip (I prefer candybars). So while I had fun showing it off in Q4 2005, once I found another 6630 to use, I switched back.
7. Nokia 9500, SOS 7.0s, Series 80 v2.0. The only "Communicator" I've had so far. Because of its size, I don't use it much. But I really like the qwerty keyboard on this one, and it renders webpages and displays documents quite nicely (although quite slowly too - by todays standards). I brought it with me on a couple of trips in 2006: in place of a laptop on a leisure trip and to supplement my laptop on a business trip.
8. Nokia E60, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. Two firsts here: first ESeries device for me and first look at 3rd Edition. I used this more for development and testing than anything else, although I do like the form factor and its minimalistic look, and probably would have used it as my primary phone if I didn't have the 6630 (yeah, I had a long love affair with the 6630, so don't be surprised if I mention it again before this post is over!)
9. Nokia N93, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. I've had this for a long time... well, more precisely, I've had different proto versions of this over the course of one year. From one that you can't even charge a battery in to the current one which takes better pictures than my N95 (in my opinion). I would probably carry it around more if it were slimmer and shinier (i.e. N93i). Good phone to have as a backup nonetheless. (N93 as backup? I'm definitely spoilt!)
10. Nokia 3250, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. While I like most candybar or block designs, I didn't care for this one. Too boxy. Even the pink version of this couldn't look cute. And the keys are too small. I tried it out for a few days, and passed it on to someone else who needed it for testing. I did think the "twist" idea was kinda cool though.
11. Nokia E70, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. Another handset I used mainly for development. I tried to use it for my personal phone briefly, but found that this flip-out qwerty keyboard does not work for me too well. I actually type faster with one hand on a regular keypad like the 6630 (with T9 predictive input) than with two hands on the E70. It does have a decent camera for an ESeries device however.
12. Nokia E62, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. I received this mid-2006 to test the Chinese input feature. I didn't think too much of it at first... no camera, no WLAN. So after the initial Chinese testing, a coworker asked to borrow it for a while and I didn't see it again for several months. Got it back ~ two months ago, and began rediscovering it. The qwerty on the E62 works for me in fact. Great for SMS and emails... big screen nice for browsing the web. And I fell in love with it when I brought it with me to Hawaii. Wonder if it's something about Hawaii or something about E62? :) Anyway it's one of my current devices.
    
13. Nokia N73, SOS 9.1, S60 3rd Ed. With the merger and name changes of AWS / Cingular (which one are they now?) I was getting less and less reliable signals with my 6630, so I desperately needed a phone with the 850Mhz band, and found myself a quad-band N73. For making calls and surfing the web, it was more than adequate. Looks great too. But the photo quality was bad... I wasn't sure if it was a hardware issue (proto) or firmware, and I couldn't locate any updated firmware to try out. It could have continued to be my main device past Q4 2006 if the photo quality was better (like the production units). Or maybe not! Since I was lucky enough to get a .....
14. Nokia N95, SOS 9.2, S60 3rd Ed FP1. The initial firmware when I received it last November was very buggy. Apps were crashing left and right. When I updated it in January things were MUCH better. It's really fun to use and it's actually thanks to N95 that I started here on Vox. I've since gotten another firmware update, and together with the E62 (and the non-Symbian N800), they keep me happy and satisfied.
15. Nokia 6290, SOS 9.2, S60 3rd Ed FP1. Not my personal phone, but currently I use it everyday for development at work. So sometimes when I bring work home, I'll have it in my purse ;)
    

Whew... a great trip down memory lane. And looking forward to see what future Symbian devices will be like! In the meantime, I'm gonna tag you folks to pass on this "Symbian History" meme:

• LonelyBob
• PhoneBoy
• Stephen