Flashback: how Symbian Anna tried to bring an old OS into the modern touchscreen world

12 November 2023
Anna, unlike the S60 5th edition software of the Nokia 5800, was a much better attempt at a touch-operated Symbian. It still wasn't good enough, though.

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My last nokia symbian phone was 808. I miss those times. Life was simple without all these social media apps. People used to meet eachother or we make sure to find time to meet whenever it's possible and we all did have time back then.

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    • Anonymous
    • X{Y
    • 12 Nov 2023

    Symbian Anna followed by symbian belle update
    Sounds Annabelle. Strange to hear this killed nokia symbian OS

      Hemedans, 12 Nov 2023Except X7 wasn't a flagship, N9 was Nokia flagship whi... moreThe N9 ran a completely different OS, though.

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        • Anonymous
        • 0xU
        • 12 Nov 2023

        Anonymous, 12 Nov 2023At least it was not android fork that is sold as new OS lik... moreLOL, Symbian had it's root sometime in the 90s if not 80s. Android was a project started in 2006 if i recall correctly.

          Jongjave, 12 Nov 2023Ellop arrival as the new Nokia CEO at that time and changin... moreHe just wanted to use Windows Mobile ... When it wasn't bad, Meego and evolution had a head start, I miss it too 😥

            NeonHD, 12 Nov 2023My first Symbian phone was technically the Nokia 1661. I st... moreWasn't sumbian at all.

              The years 2010-2014 were a complete insanity for loyal nokia users, as nokia kept changing their business and software models at every full moon. All new and confusing things, services, names and systems, of which none were good. Nokia drowned in their own mess.

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                • The Truth
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                • 12 Nov 2023

                NeonHD, 12 Nov 2023My first Symbian phone was technically the Nokia 1661. I st... moreSo, in conclusion you never used one cause none of the two are smart0hones nor did they had symbian OS.

                  Peter-B, 12 Nov 2023Outdated CPUs is something I wanted to touch on in the next... moreExcept X7 wasn't a flagship, N9 was Nokia flagship which compete with S2, it didn't have Dual core but was innovative and introduced lot of things.

                  X7 was around €380 while S2 cost over $600, X7 was anounced as entertainment device while S2 was full fledged flagship, it's like Now Comparing S23 ultra and poco F5.

                    SizN80, 12 Nov 2023I upgraded from a Nokia N81 to a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and... moreExcellent story, it is quite similar to mine with Symbian and NOKIA, I made the leap in 2011 from a Nokia c3 to the G one, htc dream from Google

                      I upgraded from a Nokia N81 to a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and thereafter a Nokia N8-00 with Symbian^3, I had long enjoyed Symbian S60 but when the switch to touchscreens happened one could tell that the ol’ girl was out of tricks.

                      I remember trying my Dad’s iPhone 3G next to my 5800 and realising just how far ahead Apple were, the iPhone had done a complete leap in form and usability, the Nokia N8-00 was a decent attempt with incredibly amazing hardware (in terms of Camera and features) but in terms of UX it paled in comparison.

                      I jumped into android with the Sony Xperia X10 in 2010 and then got an iPad as well shortly after they were released to, I fully immersed myself in both Android and iOS from the early 2010s and never looked back, the writing was on the wall for Symbian, much as Steve Litchfield and the crew at All About Symbian tried and tried to deny the end of Symbian, by 2011 with Symbian Anna and eventually Symbian Belle, it was all far too clear that Symbian’s time was up, a real pity but it was time.

                        El Jefe, 12 Nov 2023Nokia in 2007 had a market share of 50% but with an outdate... moreThis is revisionism lol, never in Symbian life it got threatened by ios/android, probably in future Android would Surpass Symbian but things weren't bad like people portray them. Most people give ios credit it doesn't deserve.

                        2007 ios was introduced, Nokia Sold more than 400M, 2008 ios grew, Nokia sold more than 400M phones, 2009 same story Nokia Sold 400M phones, 2010? Same Nokia Sold more than 400M phones, it was 2011 Nokia started losing and not because Symbian failed, but because Elop Discontinued Symbian and started using Windows phone Wp7 lumia started replacing Symbian and failed, Finally Android and Ios surpassed Nokia.

                        Google Elop effect graph you can see how from 2007 to 2010 Nokia grew faster than Apple and Samsung until Burning Memo leaked.

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                          • Carol
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                          NeonHD, 12 Nov 2023My first Symbian phone was technically the Nokia 1661. I st... moreYou confuse symbian with Featurephones. Nokia 1661 was a "dumb" phone based on java. Symbian has nothing to do with that. Symbian was written in c++ was never java nor on a phone with such small screen. And for shore, was never a 'dumb' system and always a smartphone OS. Also nokia C3-00 was not a symbian device and was just a an updated version of the same java system. Examples of Symbian smartphones are nokia 3650, 7650, 6600, 7700, N900 and a lot of others like N8 or all nokia comunicators

                            RandomX, 12 Nov 2023It was a mixed feeling memory. I think the OS was decent, C... moreOutdated CPUs is something I wanted to touch on in the next post (which will cover Belle). The Nokia X7-00 and the Galaxy S II came out at the same time, yet the Nokia had a single-core 680MHz CPU (and it was an older ARM core) vs. dual 1.2GHz CPU for the Samsung. It wasn't anywhere near close in terms of performance.

                            https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3664&idPhone2=3621

                              Nokia in 2007 had a market share of 50% but with an outdated Symbian operating system released 5 June 1997. iOS software and first iPhone June 29, 2007, Android software: September 23, 2008. Symbian OS: 20 million lines of code, difficult to fix (N95 bugs who remember?) that produced a boring interface, four incompatible user interface; system took longer than usual to download the third-party apps, clunky user experience and limited app 10000 mobile applications (Ovi Store too little, too late), vs million from Android and iOS. Easier API from Android, iOS vs complex Symbian Behemoth API. Crippled anemic hardware; sticking to cheap resistive touchscreens (pressure-activated, most supports only single touch), vs capacitive touchscreen used by android and iOS.

                                The only smartphone I used before Android is E5 from 2013 to 2017. It was a very big update from 5130 xpress music. It had better camera, 3G and wifi support. Whatsapp worked on it even youtube.

                                I wasn't able to experience Anna, but I saw phone my class fellow had, N8. It was a great device.

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                                  • Anonymous
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                                  • 12 Nov 2023

                                  Yep was fun new tech at the time

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                                    • Anunu
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                                    • 12 Nov 2023

                                    justasmile, 12 Nov 2023It looks even more disgusting than Samsung's.this thing was more stable than any of the smart dung OSes we have today

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • GRN
                                      • 12 Nov 2023

                                      Hemedans, 12 Nov 2023I think Author addressed that. To understand think like thi... moreI really hoped the maemo would go mainstream

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • GRN
                                        • 12 Nov 2023

                                        I remember the first smartphone that I had purchased,the Nokia 500 which came with Symbian Anna. Being a user of S60 the UI was vastly different yet similar. The Belle update was truly an entry into the touch UI .

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