If you have been an ardent smartphone user, the Symbian S60 OS would not be a stranger to you. But for the uninitiated, the S60 Platform (formerly Series 60 User Interface) is a software platform for mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS, developed primarily by Nokia and licensed by them to other manufacturers including Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic and Samsung. In truth, the S60 platform has enjoyed a tremendous following over the past few years, starting from its S60 1st Edition back in 2001 to its latest iteration, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2.

For one, the S60 platform advocates an open approach to the applications one can enjoy. S60 is not only predominantly found on Nokia devices. Other device manufacturers have also taken on the S60 platform, allowing users to experience the full potential of the S60 platform in its entirety. But at the end of the day, what the S60 platform revolves around can be summed up in one word: convergence.

To make sense of how the S60 fulfills the convergence criteria, let’s take a look at its functionalities. Take for example, the Nokia N96 that was recently launched. Equipped with the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2, the N96 is touted as a powerhouse of a device that fulfills both your business and entertainment needs, with the ability to schedule your calendar and synchronize with Microsoft Outlook, web surfing on the S60 web browser, music and video playback and of course, gaming. All these features depend on two main factors in a mobile device: hardware and software.

This is where the S60 platform shines in the software department, being an OS that gives you the ease of synchronizing your contacts, calendar and even bookmarks from your PC onto your Nokia device with a simple click of a button. And yet not forgetting that a mobile device will double up as an entertainment unit, the S60 platform gives you the freedom to install applications that will enhance the device’s entertainment value, such as games, support for various multimedia formats and many more.

And we’ve just mentioned the word applications, or apps in short. If you’ve been using a Nokia device powered by the S60 OS, chances are you’ve at one point or another installed an app that you might have stumbled upon on the web into your Nokia device. This is the essence of the S60 platform: the flexibility to install a myriad of programs that enhances your user experience on your Nokia device.

A huge library of applications found on official sources such as S60.com or Nokia Beta Labs, or on user-generated bases such as Symbian Guru and S60 Tips. In our earlier article on location tagging, you might have noticed that we recommended the Location Tagger application which is downloadable from Nokia Beta Labs. Of course, newer devices such as the Nokia N78 do come with their own geo-tagging feature, but imagine how you can bring the functionality of older devices closer to what the current technological trend is. Even so, there are various applications out there that are just for kicks, such as the Lightsaber application that puts you in the shoes of the Jedi Knights or a Sith Lord, swinging your Nokia device (with an accelerometer, of course) as you would with a lightsaber and getting a good laugh out of it with the accompanying lightsaber sound effects.

As one might have realized, the S60 platform has become synonymous with Nokia devices. With the recent announcement of Nokia’s full acquisition of the remaining shares in the Symbian group, and in turn, handing it over to the newly formed non-profit Symbian Foundation, the core focus of the S60 platform is now positioned as an open source platform provider to be in direct contention with Google’s Open Handset Alliance. But beyond its resolve to becoming an open source platform, there are more major updates along the S60 route, one of which would be the S60 Touch UI, or also known as the S60 Taco 5.0, which will provide users with an alternative approach to mobile device interaction when it does land on our shores very soon. And we do mean really, very soon, so be sure to check back at both www.hardwarezone.com and Nokia Zone for the latest developments in the S60 arena.