S60 Feature Pack 2 Draws Closer

So, with the impending release of S60 Feature Pack 2, I thought it would be good to have a look at some of the features which will be coming through in the latest version of the worlds most popular smartphone platform.

An interesting article came out yesterday from S60, with a quick overview of the technology update that FP2 will bring us. I wanted to delve a little bit further into this by examining the latest S60 3rd Edition Overview document, and trying to extract the useful information from all the 'management lingo' so that it makes sense to the normal smartphone user or power user.

The first item that stands out to me is that FP2 is going to incorporate high speed USB. From this, I presume they mean moving from USB1 in FP1 to USB2 in FP2 (although having just read into the document a bit further, there is no mention of USB2, only 1.1, so I will wait and see what exactly they mean by 'high speed USB'). Now I have read many a time, of user complaining of the amount of time it takes to transfer data to their device. Take the N95 8Gb for instance, transferring the full 8Gb worth of data over USB1 is a very painful experience, and for someone just moving to an S60 device must be very disappointed at one of the first things they will do. Stefan over at IntoMobile wrote an interesting piece showing the difference between transferring music to his N82 via USB, or by taking the memory card out an putting it into his PC's card reader. Well worth a read.

FP2 is also boasting HSDPA support for fast transfer rates over the 3G network, and also an instant media playback option during the download process, which sounds good, as long as you have the data rates to make it work successfully.

Another welcomed item in FP2 will be easier management of your contacts stored on the phone, and the SIM card. In FP2, it is slightly clumsy, by default of only showing contacts stored in the phone, and to find your way to the SIM contacts is a few clicks away, via a not particularly obvious route. FP2 promises the option of viewing the data from both sources in the same phonebook view.

Added functionality to the user interface includes a news ticker on the idle screen, increased network operator customisation options, a graphics engine for UI effects and transitions, a wallpaper slideshow option, and also full screen picture display for incoming calls.

There are by the looks of it, lots of improvements in FP2 for developers, but I neither understand, or want to go into all of that, so I will leave that for the experts to do. The one thing I will say, is that support for Web Run-Time is included, so that opens the door for development of widgets to enable instant access to endless amounts of web content.

So in conclusion, I personally cannot wait to get my grubby mitts on a FP2 device. The development of widgets I think is going to be very big, as long as it is implemented correctly. I also wait with baited breath as to what they mean by 'high speed USB'. With the size of mobile storage options increasing at such a rate, if consumers cannot transfer this data in a reasonable amount of time, it will be a real Achilles heel for S60 if FP2 stays with USB1.