Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Symbian is a big pain. So if Nokia wants to compete with Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony-Ericsson which have Symbian devices (and WinMo devices) and Android devices, then Nokia might need to try Linux on some of its devices.

I am sure without a huge facelift of usability and inter-device compatibility Symbian^2 and Symbian^x is lost...

I want to ask you about Maemo backward compatibility and upgrades and to make a parallel between these 2 OSs here.

Yesterday I updated my n95 8G (Symbian s60) with the latest firmware using Nokia Updater (PC) and i lost all my contacts, java apps, paid n-gage games, paid ovi apps, only few s60 apps were re-installed.

Why iPhone users can install a new OS version without pain of loosing contacts and apps and Symbian cannot preserve contacts and apps during a simple patch update?!!?

Symbian has secret device APIs and this means INCOMPATIBILITY of the APPS between devices (and OS sub-versions). This is because of improper OS design - Symbian is lost.

Symbian has big compatibility and upgrade issues: Why s60 v3.2 is not compatible with s60 v3.1??!?... Even Nokia developed applications are different apps for v3.1, v3.2 and v5 - why it is not possible to have one application for all these versions? Because the Symbian OS versions are so, so different, a nightmare for any developers including Nokia's. They have different APIs, and different device APIs...
Poor design, lack of strategy...

Why then Nokia now still sells phones with s60 3.1 which is incompatible with latest version of s60 for non-touch instead of selling N95x with s60 v3.2? Or even sell N95x with s60 v5 and make the one of the best T9 smartphone to be touch-based?

s60 v3.0 is 2005
s60 v3.1 is 2006
s60 v3.2 is 2007
s60 v5 is Oct 2008
They are not backward compatible... applications which run on s60 v3.1 won't necessarly run on s60 v3.2

Why Nokia sells now devices with an OS released in 2006? Instead of seeling the hardware with the latest OS? Because the s60 OS is not backward compatible. The only exception is E71x runnig s60 v3.2 where the initial E71 runs s60 v3.1. But very wierd, E71 is still selling in parallel with E71x, why this mess for developers which have to juggle between these APIs?

Developers are complaining how hard is to develop for Symbian (native). Most of the applications for Symbian are Java based, even big titles in N-Gage gaming platform like "Age of Empires".

Can it be harder than this? Secret device APIs, incompatibility of APIs between OS subversions, nothing unified, nothing backward compatible...

Symbian^2 will be based on s60 v5.1 (early next year), Symbian^3 will include UIQ support (why?) and will be available later next year, and Symbian^4 will be based on QT (will be redesigned) and available Q1 2011 - basically isn't this too late? iPhone OS will be by then version 5 with very good backward compatibility, good upgrades and very good API and AppStore, the same Google Android...

How do you consider the Maemo strategy at Nokia now that Maemo 4 was based on GTK+, Maemo 5 is still based on GTK+ (hildon) but with QT supported "by the community" and Maemo 6 (to be released next year?) will drop official GTK+ support and it will be based on QT 4.6?

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Windows is an awesome OS. It's light, fast and responsive. But all these "backward compatibility" patches and implants, that allow you to play Carmageddon and Doom on Windows 7 makes it fat, slow and sluggish on not so good hardware. Any questions?)
Open-source OS (OSOS?) is the best place do drop API's or even architectures. There's always somebody to help you with getting your software ready for new things. And this is great.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Existing Symbian s60 applications will not run on Symbian^2 !

Symbian Foundation doesn't plan OS upgrade.
They don't plan neither some applications compatibility on the platform, because there are, besides the "public API", some secret APIs: "Platform API" and "internal API" and the secret platform API CAN CHANGE between the releases!!!

For developers this means: mysey, mysery...

From the comments in the blog you linked above:
http://blog.symbian.org/2009/03/12/i...-release-plan/

Quoting David Wood:
> (The Symbian Platform makes a commitment to preserve
> public APIs in between releases. However, we reserve
> the right to change platform APIs.)

> A device like the N95-3 has a large amount of additional
> software in it. Some of that extra software may well
> use platform APIs, as well as public APIs.
> When the operating system moves to another version,
> the platform APIs can change (although the public
> ones remain fixed).

@David: the platform API is basically a private API, right ?

David Wood:
There will be material about the different API categories on the forthcoming new version of http://www.symbian.org. Here’s a quick explanation in the meantime: “public” APIs are expected to be maintained between releases; “platform APIs” are available for people creating software to be built into devices or to be included in the platform itself; “internal APIs” are for use only inside a single package.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Architengi;
You are speaking of Symbian S60 from your perspective with the Nokia N95-8GB correct? You are missing a bit...

...the OS there is older than what's in the iPhone (all versions)
...user data preservation is in Symbian S60 v3.2 and v5 which are both the current versions of the OS
...OSes should not guarantee backward compatibility unless you want Windows-like experiences with every device (high memory usage, legacy user interface conventions, etc.). Developers who are only coding for v3.1 of Symbian are way behind the times; and those coding just for v3.2 are not working with the best iteration of the OS either.

---
Maemo isn't the normal Nokia OS/developer story. Besides using different methods to interact with the developer and user communities, Maemo has allowed Nokia to move away from some of the antiquated coding methods that has made for quickly obselete OSes (one of the benefits of open source and agile-based software development).

That being said, Maemo 5 applications will not be comaptible with Maemo 4 unless the developer makes a different version for the older OS. Progress - in this respect - means that older devices will get left behind. This doesn't mean that Nokia should stop selling older devices. These older devices are not only mature (in terms of software and hardware), but they also offer a lower cost to entry for those looking to get something solid, but not pay the "early adopter tax."

---
Your issues with Symbian should be taken up with the Symbian Foundation. S60 is now their baby. And for all that you've nicely stated in the timeline, S60 v5 (^1) is pretty much a solo effort by all licensees. It will be S60 v5^3 that does the most towards making Symbian a malleable platform - ironically, just as much as Maemo 4/5 is now.

---
It is not the manufactuer's responsbility to make sure that you can upgrade to anything. The device and associated software you purchase as the intended service you'd use. They make no guarantees towards future use or even updates. To expect otherwise is to be a more immature consumer than those who just follow the latest trends and call themselves advanced.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Symbian's dying. The open source/Symbian Foundation move may have postponed the inevitable by 2-3 years (although it remains to be seen whether anyone apart from Nokia will produce devices with the "exponent" versions) but it doesn't change the fundamental reasons.

It was created over a decade ago when somebody managed to scare Nokia and Ericsson into believing that Microsoft would take over the smartphone OS market. Of course that never happened (Microsoft have failed consistently in anything other than the desktop OS market) and without competition Symbian pretty much rested on their laurels and coasted along with the lion's share of the device market.

Where they failed spectacularly is in attracting developer mindshare. Some of the reasons include an arcane C++ dialect, bad documentation, inconsistent ARM/x86 development environments, build and packaging systems that need to be taken out the back and shot, the "Symbian Signed" debacle and channels to market that grab 50% or more of the sale price.

As a result there are fewer apps available than even on Android. For a platform that's been around for 11 years and at its peak had 78% of the market share that's nothing sort of disastrous.

All IMHO of course.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Stop badmouthing Symbian, you snobs. As creaky and old fashioned and arcane as it is, Symbian is the only thing between you and Windows Mobile. And, unlike WinMobile, Symbian actually works. If Symbian dies, you will all end up with a choice between WinMobile and Android. Do you really want that to happen? =)

PS: I actually program for Symbian and can bitсh about it for hours. All things considered though, Symbian is not that bad to develop for, once you figure out what you should and should not do.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

:-)

And OSX, and a twisted maze of little Linux-based phone platforms, all different (ALP, WebOS, MotoMAGX, LiMo, Openmoko and maybe maemo and moblin in the near future). Sounds exactly like the Unix wars of twenty years ago :-(

But IMHO the smartphone concept is a failure for a variety of reasons (form factor, operator meddling, extremely short lifecycles etc) which is why the Internet Tablet was such an exciting proposition.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

rigth. as a user, i'm very, very content with symbian. a lot of applications (covers all i want on a mobile phone), nice, consistent UI, works great on non-touchscreen devices (which is essential for a really mobile OS)... no complaints. (except that i don't get firmware upgrades for my phone, but that's nokia, not symbian)

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

The tablet is nothing more than an instance of the whole smartphone concept though. Also, judging from iPhone success, it is all coming back to its roots, the PADD devices:

http://anomaly.mushpark.com/images/equipment/padd.jpg

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

OK, sorry for not telling you my whole experience with Symbian.

I bought the N95 8G at Best Buy on a promotion - instead of $400 I paid last year $250 on a 3 year contract with $40/mnth plan. Without plan the N95 8G would cost $700. Anyways, because of the 3 yrs plan which costs me $480/year plus taxes, let's say $500/yr - the total cost is $1500 in 3 years for the plan and the subsidizing part of it for the cost of the phone. So total cost in 3 years is $1500 + $250 = $1750 the N95 phone + 3 yrs plan. Not cheap.

Does anybody think a $700 symbian s60 v3.1 phone unsubsidized is a correct price if I don't get firmware updates and if the Symbian just removes all my contacts, loose all my paid ovi apps, loose all my N-Gage and Java paid apps?

The problem with this phone is the Symbian OS problems on it started just after 1 year (exactly 1 year + 1 month), because otherwise I would been tried to get the warranty on it.

What happend with my Symbian s60 v3.1 phone?

The AppManager simply stopped working! This is like Control Panel in Windows dies, or more specifically the Add and Remove and configure applications dies.

Because AppManager simply put the message "Out of memory" whenever I pressed the Options left key (where is the menu to configure or remove the app) basically the App Manager was only a listing of installed applications like is the "Y-Tasks Apps&Tasks" application of DrJukka.com. The RAM memory of the system was about 50 MB free, the flash phone disk C: had lot of space. The problem with AppManager was it simply stopped working. After 1 month when I saw all I've tried to do to make it work didn't help, I re-installed the same firmaware I had on my N95 8G NAM (V 11.2.011 of 01-04-2008) because NO NEW firmware was vailable in more than an year and half. Keep in mind, this was the flagship Nokia phone before N97 comed out last month. So in one year and half, Nokia did not create any update on its flagship phone...

Ok, I updated the phone with that firmware and surprise: all the contacts are lost, all the paid apps are lost. Thank you, Symbian and Nokia!

For $700 you can buy 2 nice NetBooks, which do have service packs and nice OS update without loosing your contacts and paid apps. Or you can buy anything else in the phone market: iPhone, Pre, Google Android phones, which will not destroy everything on your phone during a simply PS patch installation.

Why the flagship phone Nokia N95 8G ($700) cannot get an upgrade from s60 v3.1 to s60 v3.2?

Why is deleting all the contacts and paid applications (which ovi don't let me install again, I have to pay once again) when you install a OS patch?

This is how Nokia and Symbian treats its customers? Be aware!

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

<Yawn>, let us hear this sad, sad story...

Ok, so you have been fleeced in a traditional American way. Instead of just buying the latest decent, reasonably cheap S60 phone on the Internet, you bought an overpriced "flagship device" and let the cellular company enroll you into "a plan". To add insult to the injury, N95 looks and feels like a brick.

No. I am sure nobody does.

You do get firmware updates for N95, unlike me, not getting firmware updates for my E70.

It does not, as long as you back up your personal data before a firmware upgrade or a hard reset. Haven't bothered to back up? Do not complain then.

Can't comment that, the first thing I do to a phone is delete all the "application store apps" and everything that looks even remotely like adware.

Nothing did, most likely.

This is most likely caused by config files corruption due to too many application installs/removals or failed installs. Ever turned your phone off while it was installing an application? That would cause such a problem. The solution is rather simple though:

1. Back up your personal data
2. Dial *#7370#
3. The phone will reboot, resetting all the configuration.

And what does it tell us? Let us call Captain Obvious to the rescue, should we? The good captain is saying that N95 is no longer the flagship device, N97 is! Ah, the horror! The suffering! Shouldn't have bought that "flagship device", should you?

No backup - no personal data after upgrade or hard reset. Now you know.

Will you use both netbooks to call, one for each ear? =)

Then why not buy one of these and go complain to an appropriate iPhone/Pre/Android forum?

Because it is no longer the flagship phone. It is just an aging piece of silicon junk. Just like most other gadgets, including old iPods, the original iPhone, etc. You should have bought a cheaper and more practical phone, such as Nokia E51 for example, still going strong.

Backup your contacts. Do not buy crappy apps.

Ah, I guess we are all well aware here... But thanks for a helpful reminder.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

And I want to add a thing to what fms just said: I saw the same problem on the same phone... guess what, somebody loaded apps filled with crap just obtained from a peer2peer circuit...
Faber est suae quisque fortunae

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

As I wrote, there is no firmware update for my model of N95 8G NAM.
The only firmware available (V 11.2.011 of 01-04-2008) is the one which I had on my phone.
NO NEW firmware was avilable for N95 8G NAM in more then an year and half.

Never turned off the phone during a installation.


But the basic thing is: It is unexpected that any OS to be just simply destroyed by a failed installation.

What is so complicated about installed applications on Symbian?

In windows there is a database registry for COM applications or the manifest files that come with each .net or java application, or just the ControlPanel Add/Remove database for simpler executables.

Did the developers of Symbian OS ever read about transactional updates of DB?

If an app installation failed, it is just simple: no record of that app should be made in the system tracking apps.

Why is so hard on Symbian to have this right?


So your point is that if an applications fails to install, the solution on Symbian OS is to go and backup all your contacts and data, reset the phone, and then anyway loose some of the applications installed?

This is just a nightmare! Not an OS!

And why the backup is not done automatically during the upgrade process?

:confused:

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

"Too many application installs..."

What is the limit on the number of applications I can install on Symbian?


3?
10?
What about 15? Can I try to install 15 applications, or it is too much for the old OS?

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Nope, never did that. Ever heard about ovi store? - I paid for some of the apps I just lost.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

The latest firmware for N95 NAM, as reported on the Net, is v20.2.011. You have got v11. Please, check your facts before complaining. Especially if you complain to people who are not obligated to help you.

Your OS is not being destroyed by a failed installation. Your application manager may have become confused a little bit though.

Windows Installer also tends to screw up every now and then. When this happens, the only way to resolve things is to fix the registry by hand.

Sorry, but whom are you talking to? Please, check carefully which forum you are in.

No. My point is that if your application manager starts misbehaving, you should try resetting your phone, and backup your personal data in advance.

Everything is a nightmare for a person not able to handle reality calmly and logically.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

This thread would probably fit better in the Off-Topic forum and likely even better still in a Symbian forum.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Never said you did, I was just reporting my personal experience with a friend's phone ;)
Unfortunately **** can happen, so it is best to always backup relevant data...
About the apps' installations/removals: you can have as many apps as you like, but on every OS (doesn't matter if on an embedded device or a PC) when you "change their status" (mostly when uninstalling) they leave small "traces", and sometimes these "traces" could cause major malfuncions :(

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

I like Nokia hardware, and my next device would be N900.

I want to know about the upgrade experience on N810. How many firmware updates did you have since N810 was released?

How is Nokia updater software for NIT?

How easy is to install/remove an application - do you have a sort of "Control Panel Add/Remove App" or like "AppManager" in Symbian?

What is the compatibility between Maemo OS versions because the compatibility of Symbian OS versions is simply awful?

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

App Manager started misbehaving. The solution with reset the device or upgrade the firmware is the user will loose some (many) applications. Is this normal? Is this an ok solution?

Never seen Control Panel Add/Remove Apps to stop working and I program windows and unix for more than 16 years after my faculty graduation.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

The great thing, IMO, with many smartphones, is that they can very conveniently be operated one-handed, and to a reasonable extent without looking.
( I prefer screen and keys on the front.)

But they are still, as you say, an ungainly compromise; e.g.:
1) Too small screen (by necessity).
2) The keys should be above the screen for more comfortable one-handed thumb typing.

What I look for is a (simple smart-) phone <> tablet combination syncronizable in both directions.
I.e.: Very pocketable one-handed + pocketable large-screen for more serious use.

I guess I will have to wait for a maturing pocket-Linux market.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Yes, to me it is an ok solution. Not the most preferred one, but quite tolerable.

Sorry but you do not sound like someone who has 16 years of computer programming experience. Experienced people tend to solve problems on their own rather than noisily complain in unrelated Internet forums to people who have absolutely no relation to their problems.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

One dot release (Diablo) and several smaller Seamless Software Updates (SSUs).

The official Windows flasher works well, though it dislikes some USB hubs, and some folks have great difficulty initiating the update by pressing the correct hardware button while powering on their tablets.

The only Symbian phones I've ever seen were in the Nokia shop in Heathrow Terminal 5, and I must admit to not giving them more than a passing glance. Therefore, I cannot compare.

However, Maemo does have an Application Manager than handles application installation and removal.

GUI applications have often required at least minor code changes and recompilation to work with new versions of Maemo. The usual cause for this is upstream API breaks. Command line applications generally work without changes.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

I have these in my firmware downloads directory:

There's a Windows flashing tool but I've never used it. The command line version is documented here. You can also upgrade in-place (the so called SSU updates) which is theoretically easier but there have been problems in the past and if you upgrade by flashing the binaries are pre-linked and load faster.

Yes, it's called the Hildon Application Manager, but more importantly the underlying technology is apt, which handles dependencies and such automatically for you.

Could be better. So far every new major release meant programs had to be recompiled, and certain parts of the code (mainly UI) "ported" to the new version. Maemo 4.x to Maemo 5 is going to be a large break in compatibility, and Maemo 5 to Maemo 6 a huge one.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Fms, we are in year 2009, remember? Not in 80s or 90s... I expect more maturity from a 11 years old OS, like Symbian...

The problem is I lost all my paid applications as well and ovi store doesn't allow re-download paid apps even for the same device... This is what Nokia services are... and does Nokia know how crappy is the Symbian AppManager?

Maybe someone from Nokia looks at this thread and they will try to fix something: AppManager fix and Ovi Store re-download of a paid app on the same device...

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

My 3c ...
Symbian was wonderful when comparing to java enabled phones, when n7650 and n3650 came to market.
Multiple applications at one time, switching between them, performance and connectivity capabilities.
I was a big fan of Symbian at it's start - I still own n3650 (I can't even imagine how dedicated I was - browsing through enormous number of wap pages).
I've said it before - now I'm using E51.
It's OS simply can't handle all connectivity this phone is capable of.
Stupid separation of using selected access points or ways to connect to the network.
When I use my voip client (config was real pain in E51 and I still can't use it in my home network - I really don't know why) I can't use the same connection for browsing since "network already in use"...
A bunch of crap comparing to maemo on n810.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

You've never encountered one of Windows Installer's many bugs? That Control Panel is nothing special, it just runs whatever uninstaller the program had whether it be a Windows Installer one, NSIS, Inno etc. So - technically - it can't fail; being a simple program launcher.

As for the uninstallers themselves, believe me, I've had many fail on me. "UNIST.LOG not found; Insert original CD and select file that happens to be in some obsurely named CAB file"

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Thank you, Lma, your information and links are very much appreciated.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Please, address your complaints directly to Nokia. This forum is not Nokia service center. I do not think any of us know why you lost all your paid Symbian apps or can help you get them back.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

This makes sense. Technically the AppManager should not fail either. It is the list of installed applications, like Control Panel Add/Remove Apps.

If one application cannot install or cannot be unistalled, no problem with that. It might be an issue with that application dependencies.

But if AppManager cannot work at all with any application simply because its menu cannot be displayed and an error message said all the time "Out of memory" (and there was enough RAM and disk space), then this is a BIG problem. And there is no solution even after reset the device or upgrade the OS firmware to fix this. Simply put: you will loose your applications, some of them paid.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Thank you for your information, especially that one how to reset the device, didn't know that and it is not anywhere upfront.

I am not complaining to you.


The situation I present here is not acceptable in 2009 with an 11 years old OS.

And the discussion is not only about loosing your apps and the crappy Symbian AppManager or the Ovi store issue with re-download.

It is about user experience, it is about improvement from Nokia side, it is about OS compatibility between versions, sub-versions and devices, it is about how Maemo handles some of this issues.
And, by the way, what can a Nokia service center do after 1 year (expired) warranty? See, nothing. But don't worry, these complains can lead to future solutions, isn't it?

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Oh, it is pretty acceptable. You just didn't have chance to compare with some other phones (running WinMobile or various custom platforms).

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Maybe I didn't get your question right but I have 6 games and 20+ applications installed on my 580. Once, I did a reset on my phone and used Ton Ren AutoSisInstaller to install all needed auto-install all sis files I put in one folder. Also my favorite app would be Mobipocket Reader which is s60v3.1, well you have to use volume keys for scrolling but transparent VirtualKey app fixed this by adding arrows on the screen.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Architengi - one pint regarding losing contacts and apps when you reflash to newer firmware for Symbian.
You do need to backup the data before and Nokia updater software does mention it (I recently flashed to new firmware for my N95).

The point you make about Apple not erasing user data while updating is beacuse of their over-the air updates that they provide.
Nokia recently shifted to OTA updates for Maemo and also for many phones.

But yes, the a modern firmware update process should keep user space untouched while updating the OS space. I will grant you this. But that does not mean Symbian as a whole is a bad OS. It is very stable for me - I hardly reboot my phone or it hardly crashes - unlike my previous Blackjack with WM.

Granted I also dont mess with 3rd party apps much.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

So just to get things straight...

Architengi: Do you own a Maemo device? Are you planning to buy one?

You do understand that this is not a Symbian forum, right? Some of us own Symbian devices, but that is not the reason for this forum. We discuss Symbian when it relates to Maemo or our tablets. For instance, "how do I tether my N95 to my N810?" or some such topic.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Yes. I plan to buy N900. This is why I ask people and Nokia here how is the Maemo OS compared with Symbian at these key features:

1) AppManager to not stop working (yes, some installs or uninstalls it is acceptable to fail, but not the manager itself).
2) App compatibility between OS versions and sub-versions (and devices)
3) Existence of secret APIs (device APIs) which break the compatibility
4) Number of firmwares per year for a device
5) update process to be OTA and to keep the user data (contacts, installed applications)

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Well, see, we can't tell you how Maemo on the N900 compares to Symbian, because the N900 will come with a new version of Maemo that none of us have tried yet (except in a beta SDK, which isn't really the same).

#2 will always be a problem on every device, and from what I've seen, it will be a problem moving to the N900 (Maemo 5). And it sounds like there'll be another break for the next OS (Maemo 6), when they move to the QT toolkit.

But since you don't own any Maemo devices, why are you asking about compatibility issues?

#5 should be just as you want it on the N900.

Other points have been addressed above, including the fact that you're complaining to the wrong forum about Symbian...

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

To erase the contacts during the upgrade and make all the installations not running it is simply not ok.

Don't forget about the AppManager that it is reportedly stopping working after more installations. This is not excusable. As I said:

AppManager should not stop working (yes, some installs or uninstalls it is acceptable to fail, but not the manager itself). Even if the installation fails or it is interrupted, the AppManager should continue to work after that.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

This is only Nokia problem, they simply don't care, I read the thread about "Quim keynote on Maemo's switch to Qt as the main toolkit"
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=30085
where they simply say all the existing applications of Maemo 3, 4 and 5 made with Hildonized Gtk+ will stop working in Maemo 6. This is simply un-excusable as a rationale direction and approach. Looks like dictatorship to me. "we don't care about your old software". Why is so hard to keep both Qt and Gtk+? Stuborness? I know there is and can be a small reason for everything, but if you want to say "the end user is our boss" then you have to make it easy for him, not very, very hard. The same for programmers, they will leave the platform if the direction changes that much dramatic.

Re: Why Symbian OS is so not friendly at all? How is Maemo?
 

Well, I guess you'll have to get an iPhone, then.