Sshhh… One-chip, Real-time Smartphones Are Here

El Reg is reporting on a couple of developments that result in “a quantum leap in price/performance” for mobile phones. The advances are running everything on one chip instead of two (one for the connection and one for the operating system), using Symbian’s EKA2 kernal which is described as “the biggest overhaul of what was once known as EPOC in a decade”.
This may have an effect on developers, although I’m not sure how big.

With Symbian v9, there is some pain with the gains. The new N series and E series phones, and UIQ 3, are all incompatible with existing software, although this is largely due to the Platform Security (“PlatSec”) features rather than EKA2. Software will need to be recompiled.

The Register questions why these developments and their subsequent launch in Sony Ericsson’s P990 smartphone and Nokia’s N series and E series haven’t received more fanfare and advertising dollars.
I think the answer is given by the fact that the two manufacturers have chosen to include more features for the same price (normally a higher-density screen and Wi-Fi) rather than the same features for a lower price. They don’t need to create a lot of hype on the technology — that would only confuse the issue. If there are two handsets at the same price and one has a better screen and Wi-Fi, which one is going to get chosen?

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