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< Esato Forum Index > Sony Ericsson / Sony > Symbian phones > UIQ3 - great operating system, or the greatest? Bookmark topic

Since most of us usually spend time bitching about things that do not work, I thought I'd vainly try to even things out a bit, and write a series of unsubstantiated opinions masquerading as facts.

It's true, of course - uiq smartphones do not have alarms go off when the phone is turned off, they do not have lightsaber- applications, and the menus don't have smooth edges. And the wifi- application does not actively search and notify you whenever an access point is in range.

But apart from that, how does an UIQ unit square up against other smartphones?

What about handwriting recognition? It turns out that UIQ3 can run stable handwriting recognition software constantly on top of every program with input, without causing degradation in performance. Or inexplicable hangs.

No other system can currently do that.

What about copy&paste? UIQ has a clipboard that stays open for as long as the phone is turned on, and can be used to copy and paste text to and from any application (although some few textfield types cannot be copied or selected, if they are defined in that way - "about" boxes, for example, or confirmation dialogues). In addition there are special buttons in the in- built browser for copying links easily, as well as quick draw- down menus for pasting text. Note that this is in any application with text- fields using the standard uiq fields (which is almost every one).

No other system has this. Apparently WM 6.1 (congrats on the first security- update that fixes everything) now has a form of copy&paste in some programs such as the office- suite. On s60 you cannot even copy a link from the browser.

Stability. Uptimes for an uiq3 system has been documented several times around three weeks. This or more appears to be the standard, rather than the exception. Hangs are rare (rare, as in weeks at a time without restarts) and typically happen when particular programs do not exit cleanly. Instead of after a memory- leak that mysteriously occurs in special conditions with special combinations of programs running, like on some systems. It's not very easy to provoke a hang, either, since increased use of ram is not typically the problem.

To get a sense of what the competition brags about, WM units should typically be rebooted every other day, and will predictably switch on and off at random sooner or later. In the worst cases (although I'm assured it's all great now), I was told it was not unusual to have three- four completely random reboots (not merely program hangs) every day. And these hangs could take place when the phone was in use, or when it was not in use. During a phone- call, or just when the phone would idle and turn off the screen.

Compared to WM, s60 is loads better, of course. But s60 still has stability issues. Hangs that cannot be attributed to application code happens, and complete locks have been documented, where the only way to make the phone respond was to pull out the battery while the phone is still turned on, and then restart it. Even themes have been reported to be able to stop the phone from booting. Frequently, users say the phone reboots about once a week. Although on earlier firmwares, more varied and frequent problems were reported widely.

In other words, it's not unfair to say that even though uiq is not perfect by a longshot - it is still the most reliable platform out there, with the functions it offers.

Finally, battery life. An s60 unit will not go past two days if it's used. A WM unit can achieve slightly more. Although this depends heavily on the software- configuration, and what sort of services and memory- operations are running. Also, various memory- optimisation strategies tend to cost cpu- time, and therefore battery. As will a flashy today- screen. The result being that talk- time in gsm- nets for WM and s60 units are in the range of 4-5 hours (some wm units have that, even with 1500mAh batteries).

So - not all can be attributed to hardware- differences and faster processor. In fact, since we are dealing with relatively low cpu- frequencies and small amounts of ram, hardware is much less important than software. It's also both axiomatic and self- evident that the more complex programs, the more important it is to have efficient algoritms - and algorithms geared towards sparse use of resources. At least if battery- life is a priority.

In other words, the inescapable conclusion is that UIQ is better than everything else in the entire world, and anyone who disagree is delusional, and knows nothing.

So - is UIQ a great OS, or the greatest? And doesn't that logically mean every UIQ unit is flawless? Until an upgrade comes along, and it becomes even flawlesser? I think we can all agree on that (unless you are delusional and think nokia and microsoft are anything else than third- rate producers of complete junk. Which only delusional people who want to buy junk dearly, even though it has no practical value, or value otherwise). Or do you think bad battery life and shitty software- implementation is useful? (If you did that, you would have to be delusional, without a doubt.)

(now, quickly: shower me with praise for defending our mobiles against the ill will of the non- believers! And to anyone thinking about responding: this is personal, and I will be terminally offended if I'm wrong about even the most insignificant detail. You can tell from the way I never draw my breath during the sentences.)



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Posted: 2007-12-10 06:33:05
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Truly in concurrence with all your comments.

However, its a subjective matter to declare UIQ3 as the world greatest although in my personal opinion, its the most user friendly OS. I have recently been trying to adapt to WM6 since i got the TytnII and only realise how much i missed the UIQ3 and although running on P990i, i am truly happier now using back my P990i

Calendar is one app that beats WM6 default calendar, at least from my basic user application point of view. I am sure this topic will invite a lot of "comments" from WM6 or even S60 users and fans, but heck, i totally agree UIQ3 is made for me...

WM6 may have much more apps and more "modifiable", but lets get real and compare the percentage of "mods" vs basic users.

Cheers and happy happy UIQ3 user.....


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Posted: 2007-12-10 06:48:50
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@Nipsen
Are you being payed by SE to write this?
lol (if not, you should)

Jokes apart, I'm really impressed by the P1 battery. Specially when used with heavy programs, like Tom Tom that spend processor, backlight and bluetooth all at the same time!
Also my P1 is very stable. Sometimes applications crash, but the P1 keeps running rock solid and for days (weeks?) without reboots.
* I never get to "weeks" because I do a once-a-week full backup.







[ This Message was edited by: _LAU_ on 2007-12-10 10:56 ]
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Posted: 2007-12-10 11:47:56
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[counting minutes until kradcliffe comes to say "not true, my P1 rebooted all the time, check my list" and mib1800 to say "s60 is clearly superior, a God´s gift to mankind, like everything Nokia does]

Anyway...i appreciate, for a change, that someone points UIQ strenghs...an imperfect OS with lots to improve, like all the others, but the best for what some of us need
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Posted: 2007-12-10 12:42:23
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Hi,
Your post made a great reading. Couple of submissions:
- s60 based phones are rampant in a number of developing countries: heads up abt developing countries: population=very high, decisions by rumour instead of logical analysis=95%, low cost but high volumes preferences=100%, uneducated use of gadgets = 95%.
- s60 is available in multitudes of Nokia brands, along with Windows Mobile, but UIQ is still not available in non SE phones. UIQ for Motorola Z8 is a dream.
- UIQ does not run without a SIM card, which is a big disadvantage for those who exchange data between phones.
- UIQ does not handle PDF files as efficiently as Nokia.
- UIQ applications, including Opera 8.... and media apps, crash - even on my P1i: try opening a 3gp file>10mb and see how long it takes, compared to an S60.
But UIQ is certainly a platform to cherish. I love my P1i and am happy using it. It is just different and dictates a different lifestyle.
Cheers
Suresh
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Posted: 2007-12-10 13:04:22
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Why are you so petulant?

I only have limited experience with UIQ3 so I dont think I will take part here (except that it has a Symbian core - albeit an outdated version). Knowing what had transpired with P990, I have great scepticism. But that is just me.



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Posted: 2007-12-10 13:07:25
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Man, the fact that UIQ still doesn't run withou a SIM, and you can't reset the phone without "log in" is one of the 10 reasons I bought the P1.
A well configured P1 is a very thief safe device, and the only smartphone I would trust my personal data.

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Posted: 2007-12-10 13:14:57
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@mib1800, i hit the spot didn´t i???


@metal_might, you seem to ignore the history of UIQ...Motorola is not new on it, and had several phones with UIQ2 OS, and pretty good (A1000, etc). Now, the Z8 is just the first. I agree right now, the numbers are very low though, in terms of devices on market.

Regarding video files, i open them every time, without problems...of course they will load slower than on a N95, the processor is slower. In terms of apps crashing...well...i only get those with new apps i am testing, normaly beta or alpha state...and not due to the OS itself.



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Posted: 2007-12-10 13:27:37
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@Nipsen

Nice!!!

Made me love my UIQ 3 even more... But there are definitly a lot more scope for improvements...

[ This Message was edited by: hgautam on 2007-12-10 12:56 ]
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Posted: 2007-12-10 13:55:19
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just to add a bit on opera. i have tried wm6 internet explorer, tried net front and even opera on tytn ii and i find opera on this p990i my fav no problem at all. now i am anxiously waiting for w960 to replace.
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Posted: 2007-12-10 14:18:00
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