Been wondering about Nokia's strategy for conquering the rapidly expanding app space? Great! So were we, which is why we joined up with a recent dev event carried out by the Finnish company for an update on how and where things are going. It's a familiar narrative by this point:
Qt is all set to become
the way that Nokia-friendly apps are made -- whether it be for
Symbian smartphones or
MeeGo-powered mobile computers, coffee machines or
infotainment consoles. Nokia did stress that its developer workflow has also been streamlined dramatically, and promised coders a better distilled experience that treats their time and money like the valuable commodities that they are. It's an encouragingly frank discussion of where things have gone wrong in the past and how Espoo intends to remedy them in the future, and we've got it all on video for you after the break -- no reading required!
Start - Streamlining the developer workflow.
03:05 - Design center tools.
04:16 - Devices and platforms, clarified.
05:24 - Background on Qt.
06.56 - Cross-platform development using Qt SDK.
11:00 - Nokia Smart Installer and app distribution.
12:35 - Qt QUICK (Qt User Interface Creation Kit).
17:00 - Publishing to Ovi Store and app signing.
posted August 5th 2010 6:22AM
The last bit about signing was little worrying. Seems like they want to push all distribution through OVI.
@dansus
In order for any app to run on a Symbian device it needs to be Symbian signed,
i.e. it has to run well and not properly f*** up the device.
In order to sign apps however, you need certain tools and things specific to you, namely a a dev certificate and key file. Only companies could get them at one point and furthermore it's not cheap to sign apps. Used to be nearly $100 or some ridiculousness like that per app.
Nokia is offering to take that cost on board for you in order to sign the apps. There are other ways to publish your apps for non-Nokia platforms like for example Symbian Horizon, but there'd obviously be costs involved in going down that route.
@spartandre217
Thats my point, Nokia can control OVI and its apps, thats fine but if i want run some random app then it should be a simple process.
Its my phone and if i mess it up running bad code, then thats my fault for straying outside of OVI.
@dansus
Actually it is a simple process.
I've signed apps myself :-| and I'm in no way, shape or form a developer.
It's a straightforward process to get your app signed. There's a website where Symbian'll do it for you actually.
@dansus, Symbian^3 does NOT require an application to be signed. If it's not, a pre-install warning will be presented to the end user asking him to confirm that he wants to install 3rd party application for which Nokia cannot guarantee that will operate well. You have the same thing on Maemo now - well, not exactly the same thing, but App Manager will not ask you to confirm installation if it's coming from Nokia repositories.
Even the signed process is changed not to be pain in the ass as it used to be. And, at least for now, Nokia offers free signing.
@incognito
Good news about Sv3. Thanks.
QT is not native developer framework for mobile phones. They have make it work with mobile devices, yes, but it is not native. Yes, it is easier to develop apps in QT then Symbian C++, but it has some major problems for even very simple things (classic password field, scrolling your app, etc) so I don't believe that Nokia is going into right direction.
I have tried some QT development for Symbian and I was very disappointed with the results, not to mention overcomplicated procedure to establish the development environment on your PC. I don't think I will ever come back to try making something in Symbian and QT if it is not improved significantly.
@mileusna
What in particular is your issue with Qt?
Nokia is a dying breed. Symbian is a relic. Their new stuff is mostly vaporware.
@Jordus
And your words are both meaningless and stupid
The terms "Nokia" & "Strategy" seem odd when placed together.
15 best Nokia apps from the ovi store
http://www.mobileforum.com/Nokia/15-best-Nokia-apps-from-the-OVI-store.html#2260