Symbian S60 gets touch-screen support

demo of the new Interface with prototype phone

Today at a Symbian Smartphone show in London, UK, Nokia announced its plans on the next Symbian S60 version. The interface that has been used in almost all smartphones of the manufacturer will support touch displays, which means that devices equipped with one will appear in the future. Until now, the only touch-screen equipped Nokia phones used proprietary Series 90 interface but it has been abandoned years ago. The new version of the S60 interface will allow the devices to compete both with smartphones (like the WM6 Professional and UIQ devices) and with other devices like the iPhone and the Viewty. Similar to the latter and the Giorgio Armani phone by Samsung, the S60 comes with support for tactile feedback, probably via vibration.

Existing S60 3rd Edition applications will run on touch enabled devices unmodified but in addition tools for further optimization of the touch experience will be available to the developers.

The new S60 interface is also advertised for its sensor integration which would allow for various sensors to be supported by the phones, including ones for light, proximity, orientation etc.

Realizing the importance of the internet browser nowadays, Nokia will update the one it uses in current S60 phones (which is one of the best on the market at the moment) to be capable of displaying Flash Video integrated (embedded) in the page. This would allow for browsing pages likes YouTube for example just as on a computer.

Currently Nokia hasn’t announced any device that will use the new S60 interface but surely some will come in the future. These technologies will be available for all S60 device manufacturers during 2008.

Nokia S60 Touch Interface DEMO:

source: Nokia; image and video courtesy of AllAboutSymbian