Symbian Foundation releases web app toolkit
The Symbian Foundation has released a web application development toolkit for the open-source Symbian^3 mobile platform.
According to a Thursday statement from the foundation, anyone who can create a web page can create an app for Symbian^3, as coders only need standard development tools including HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
"These Symbian web application development tools provide an ideal entry point for web developers targeting the vast, new development opportunities offered by the Symbian^3 platform and the wider mobile marketplace, where compelling applications are proving their ability to fuel communities," Symbian Foundation chief Lee Williams said in the statement.
According to the foundation, people can augment their web development skills with the use of "just a few more JavaScript APIs", in order to access handset functionality such as contacts, the camera, accelerometers and location.
The Symbian web app development toolkit is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Other web development environments can be used to write apps for Symbian, but the foundation is promoting features of its toolkit that include mobile-specific application preview, debugging and deployment capabilities.
Only one Symbian^3 handset has been announced so far: the Nokia N8, which is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year. Symbian^3 is the first fully open-source version of the platform, which was bought out and spun out by Nokia in 2008.
The next version, Symbian^4, will be the first to feature a fully redesigned user interface.