Old Hardware Emulated - The Continued Evolution Of Symbian (3rd Party Applications)


Their was no shortage of applications for the Symbian platform. The Symbian library became the largest of them all at a time when Palm was rapidly declining. Their were hundreds of programs available for such devices. 

On one hand, one would be given a false impression as like in the case with WinCE, the vast majority of the software archive sites have shut down. However, many of these programs have been archived elsewhere, like Archive.org. Also, some of those mobile archive sites are still operating. This is where most of these programs came from. 

Their were various programs that one could populate their Nokia device with. Their are various appointment keepers, calculators, media players, dictionaries. If one wanted to manage their finances and track their stock values, then there was an application for that. If one wanted to look up and element on the periodic table, then that could be done as well. Their was no shortage of web-browsers either.  If one needed directions, then their was an app for that too. 

Massive software libraries didn't start with the iPhone. Their were many platforms that had giant libraries as well. On Symbian, this library was enabled by the J2ME Java runtime. J2ME was basically the mobile version of the Java interpreter geared towards handhelds. J2ME allowed developers who were already familiar with Java to adapt their programs onto smartphones using a language that they already knew. These programs typically shipped as JAR files that were executed by the Java interpreter. Technically, these programs weren't restricted to Symbian as any platform that had J2ME could run them as well, like the Motorola Razr. 

Dictionaries were very popular on the platform. The number of dictionaries on Symbian exploded as the platform began to proliferated in various countries other than Japan, Western Europe, and North America. In many Africa countries and in India, where English is typically used as the administrative language, these dictionaries became a life-saver for those not as familiar with the language. In these countries, for many, their first introduction to a smartphone was through a Symbian device. Nokia phones also became popular in the Baltic states and parts of the former Soviet block, along with the Middle East. Various dictionaries were made to accommodate the local languages that they were released in. 

Google Maps (other than on the PC) became a heavyweight on the Symbian handheld. However, for those on the road, their were other programs as well. Those not familiar with the London Metro and its complicated transit system could easily install the map on their handheld to provide directions of how to navigate the subway.

Along with Google, Opera became an heavyweight on mobile browsers. While Opera was on Windows, this browser became much more well-known on the Symbian handhelds. Opera optimized web-pages for mobile viewing, which further improved the web-browsing experiences on mobiles. By optimizing web-pages for mobile browsing, it also helped those who were on very restrictive data plans. It's even more shocking that one can still use Opera and visit the web on the SDK today! However, web standards have changed so much since the middle 2000's that most websites either don't work at all or are displayed all wonky because of formatting issues due to the changed standards.

Symbian was become the platform of choice for software developers. However, what good is a platform without pointless fun! The next article will focus on the games that were released for Symbian (and trust me, their was a a lot). Symbian wouldn't be without their time-killers too! The Symbian games will be explored in the next article. 

Articles of Interest
Wikipedia : Symbian - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbian
Wikipedia : S60 (Software Platform) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S60_(software_platform)
Wikipedia : Nokia 7650 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7650
Wikipedia : Nokia 3650 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_3650
Wikipedia : Java Platform, Micro Edition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Platform,_Micro_Edition
Wikipedia : Motorola Razr - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Razr
Nokia Symbian 3 Developers Library: Supported file types (SDK) - https://docs.huihoo.com/symbian/nokia-symbian3-developers-library-v0.8/GUID-919E32B1-1316-4B09-B668-...

Software Sites/Archives
[ The J2ME Archives ] Over 5000 Mobile Games : https://archive.org/details/Over5000MobileGames
[The J2ME Archives] 1000 J2ME Games Pack : https://archive.org/details/1000_J2ME_Games_Pack
Mobiles24 : https://www.mobiles24.co/downloads
mobyWare : http://www.mobyware.org/s60-5th-edition-symbian-1-9-4-device-games-download-1763-all-1-date.html
phoneky : https://phoneky.com/symbian-games/
MobileHeart : http://www.mobileheart.com/cell-phone-softwares/Symbian-Series-60-softwares-39.aspx

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