S60 Touch screen shots look like... S60 with touch

A heaping handful of fresh alleged screen shots of S60 Touch's user interface are floating around, apparently yoinked off the platform's PC-based theme editor -- not as cool as if they'd been lifted from a Tube, granted, but still good enough to give us some clutch insight into where Nokia's taking this thing. As revolutionary as the move to touch control might be for S60 as a platform, the UI looks shockingly evolutionary so far; in fact, to the untrained eye, there are portions that are virtually indistinguishable from S60 revs of yore. That's good news (we suppose) for S60 diehards who aren't interested in learning a new paradigm -- and we're all for the VGA support here -- but it's bad news for anyone who was planning on having their noodles positively baked by Espoo's engineering manpower and massive R&D budget. Let's all just hold off on the negativity until Nokia gives us something official to ogle; for the time being, though, our boring UI-dar is definitely on high alert.

[Via Symbian Freak, thanks Misha]

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jul 21st 2008 5:42PM]

Please Nokia, put some effort into your OS for ONCE.

Jesus Christ.

[SuperSexyErik @ Jul 21st 2008 6:02PM]

YES! thank you

[L @ Jul 21st 2008 6:29PM]

Clueless much? That's an UI, not an OS.

And how do you want to judge something as complex as an UI based simply on a few screenshots coming from a beta theme designer software from ages ago?

[MikeKlein @ Jul 21st 2008 9:47PM]

Yeah...get rid of those oh-so-yesterday icons and taskbar.

[Bob @ Jul 21st 2008 6:52PM]

@ L

Clueless much yourself? It's not "an" UI, it's "a" UI... If you just say the words that UI means, it doesn't even sound right with "an" without something to describe the UI...

"That phone has an user interface."

vs.

"That phone has an awesome user interface"

[L @ Jul 21st 2008 7:22PM]

I'm *so* sorry for making a tiny mistake. Please note that English is not my native language. Beg your forgiveness, dear Mr Grammar Nazi...

[SuperSexyErik @ Jul 21st 2008 7:58PM]

@L
Uhmm he never said anything about the UI.
Dude do you just make the crap up as you move along? Fail noob.

[m.edgar @ Jul 21st 2008 8:24PM]

Sorry, Bob, you idiot, but In the english language any acronym is prefaced with 'an', no matter what letter said acronym starts with. It's always funny when a grammar nazi fucks up.

Appart from that, attack the meaning of the message, not the form of the message or the messenger. Anything else means you have no valid counterargument.

[L @ Jul 21st 2008 8:25PM]

Not that you'd know it, SuperDumbnutErik, but S60 is the UI and Symbian is the OS. You see? Two different things. The article is about the UI, not the OS.

Now take a long walk outdoors, get some fresh air and contemplate that new knowledge. Who knows, maybe you'll digest that shocking revelation over the course of a few hours...or days. Take your time, as long as it keeps you away from a computer.

[Intrepid @ Jul 21st 2008 8:41PM]

Ok people, according to real English:
'An' is the form of 'a' used before words beginning with a vowel or with an unpronounced h: an elephant; an hour.

But I agree that it sounds strange saying 'an user'... From my experiences, you don't say 'an unit' or 'an universe' either.

[Maxwell @ Jul 21st 2008 8:57PM]

Sorry m.edgar, but you use "an" ONLY if there's a vowel sound. The term "UI" has a hard "y" sound so you use "a".

I'm assuming you speak English fluently, and I apologize if not, because i think it's silly to correct someone who doesn't even speak the language. Just saying.

[bdotwoods @ Jul 21st 2008 9:53PM]

So i guess i'll be perfectly fine with the 7710 still ?

Hasn't failed me yet.

[thedesolate1 @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:11AM]

Atleast they aren't ripping off apple's UI. So i think this is a step in the right direction albeit a small one.

[who? @ Jul 21st 2008 5:45PM]

Nice!

[Anthony @ Jul 21st 2008 5:42PM]

Everything doesn't need to be flashy. S60 works for me. I get in, get what I want, get out. Simple, efficient. Positively Finnish.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jul 21st 2008 6:27PM]

My avatar absolutely loves this handset's user interface. Of course, he also likes to walk around buck-naked and scratch his bare behind in public while munching on bananas. Kindred spirits, maybe.

Positively Finnish = FINISHED

[Tejas @ Jul 21st 2008 7:01PM]

No wonder it's your profile image and also that your name is a play upon one of CEOs from a company based in a city which is named after a chronic problem with spellcheckers! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupertino_effect)

[spass @ Jul 21st 2008 7:12PM]

Flashy is optional, "artsy" is not.

Ok, it works, job is not done!
There is more to it that makes it attractive.
Well designed interface sells.

[Esat Dedezade @ Jul 21st 2008 7:14PM]

Steffen for the love of all things good on this planet:

No one gives a flying fuck about what your avatar looks like, what it thinks, what it smells like or what it does.

Please go back to having intercourse with your iPhone in your room filled with Steve Jobs cardboard cut outs watching intently.

/rant

[riggs @ Jul 21st 2008 5:51PM]

am i the only one who doesnt see anything wrong with this UI? does everything have to be flashy nowadays?

[quanta67 @ Jul 21st 2008 5:58PM]

Yes they do! Things that are non-flashy are so 2007...

[Mark Anderson @ Jul 21st 2008 6:05PM]

Nope. You see, if millions of customers are used to an like a UI then radically changing it would be a bit silly.

[fred @ Jul 21st 2008 7:28PM]

"am i the only one who doesn't see anything wrong with this UI? does everything have to be flashy nowadays?"

No, but this is seen as competition by a certain group of folks that use a certain phone product, so that whole talking point is used as a club to try to criticize a product that likely have never used in hopes of painting it as awful so no one will buy it, so then they can point you into buying that certain phone product that they like.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jul 21st 2008 5:57PM]

Even those renderings in the S60 Touch demonstrations look 100x better than this.

I think a theme would go a long way in making it all look a bit nicer, though.

[YpoCaramel @ Jul 21st 2008 6:00PM]

Eh? And the iPhone is more than bunch of icons on a front page? Do we really need Diamond-level flashiness with animation and all?

[L @ Jul 21st 2008 6:01PM]

Their Touch UI was said to be backwards compatible with earlier versions, so that it will still mostly look like S60 is a given either way.

And anyway, this was snatched off an leaked *beta* release of the Theme Designer, back in *February*.

[me @ Jul 21st 2008 6:12PM]

I really would be greatly disappointed if they(Nokia) did the same iPhone looking UI that the rest of the companies have emulated, and yes, it would be nice if they added some eye candy for the touch interface but even if they don't, users know that S60 has always been about functionality more than pretty looking animations.

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 21st 2008 6:13PM]

The visible button you have to seemingly press to get it from 'landscape' to 'portrait' and back again bothers me.

Other than that, this is just S60 with a touchscreen... but I don't recall it ever being claimed to be anything but, so that's fine by me.

[L @ Jul 21st 2008 6:27PM]

As said - this is just from an early build of an UI designer. Nothing much to worry about ;)

And quite a few Nokias already do accelerometer-based auto-rotation (all 4 N95 variants, the N82, E66, N96), so that's a given in pretty much any touchscreen device I'd wager. And I have heard a few rumors specifically mentioning that for Tube.

Oh, and btw: chances are that Tube will be presented soon, within the next 10 days or so...

[Anthony @ Jul 21st 2008 8:12PM]

iPhone develops it's UI for only one phone, but Nokia develops the S60 for many. Some don't have accellerometers, but most high end ones do these days. I imagine button is either A) only for the PC based design tool or B) meant to incorporate both types of handsets in their (& other manu's) portfolio.

[zephxiii @ Jul 21st 2008 6:50PM]

Is this version intended for kids? (the color)

[Michal G @ Jul 21st 2008 6:49PM]

listen my nokia e60 or something lagged like hell but I LOVED the OS. The calander was perfect and just a great phone. If they can make it seem to work as quickly and lag free as say iphone or better I'm sold. and notice i said make it SEEM. Cause iPhone takes it time it just looks al flashy and like it's sliding lol

[sr1329 @ Jul 21st 2008 8:40PM]

Try an N78, seriously the UI is as fast as a 6230 dumbphone.

[my @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:26PM]

Well the new E71 (and E66) should be pretty snappy, most of the reviews have been positive. See nice user review at:
http://www.atmasphere.net/wp/archives/2008/07/17/nokia-e71-the-ultimate-communicator

[gbukgb @ Jul 21st 2008 7:15PM]

I've seen children's toys with better UI's.
This skin looks like it is just to throw everyone off the scent.

[sr1329 @ Jul 21st 2008 8:41PM]

Definitely, have you seen the Haze theme? I use it on my N78 and it would make a nice touch theme. In fact it was the first S60 touch theme released.

[Justin @ Jul 21st 2008 8:53PM]

Not to be pedantic, but you mean Series 90. *stares at his 7710*

[chickenator @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:01AM]

*yawn*

[neofolklore @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:54AM]

Sweet, Harvest Moon!