The S60 3rd Edition platform is based on Symbian OS v9.1 For application developers, there are some new APIs for C++ development. Also support for updated versions for earlier released standards and a couple of new technology features are introduced.
S60 3rd Edition includes a new compiler embedded into the platform. It is based on ARM's Embedded Application Binary Interface (EABI) standard. The new compiler produces applications with a smaller ROM footprint and enhances performance for S60 software. There are also some improvement in third-party application performance. However, this causes a binary break with all previous versions of the S60 platform.
Note: The full binary break between S60 2nd and 3rd Editions means that applications need to be compiled using the new tools provided in the S60 3rd Edition in order to run on S60 devices based on the new platform edition. Backward binary compatibility will be maintained within each platform edition so far as possible, even if it may not be maintained between the editions.
S60 3rd Edition also improves application security and confidentiality
of user data by introducing platform security and different application capability
levels. It presents mandatory .sis file signing, which
means that all .sis files must be signed before installing
them to the device. The "Capability Model" means that for third-party applications
certain APIs are restricted and that specific capabilities must be granted
before an application can utilize the desired features. There are two certifications
for signing which developers need for gaining access to restricted APIs: the
"Symbian Signed" certification is needed to allow the release version of a
suitably complex application to run on devices based on the 3rd Edition (and
later), and "Symbian Developer Certificate" is required to allow developers
to test the application on a real device during development. It is important
to note that these certification requirements allow Nokia to publish many
APIs that were previously private.
Other new features available in the S60 3rd Edition platform include, for example, the following:
Real-time kernel
C++ SIP Stack and APIs
New audio formats and APIs
In addition, there are many new features introduced on top of the 2nd Edition as lead features with the Feature Packs, but which will now become part of the core software of S60 3rd Edition. Probably the most significant of those is the support for Scalable UI introduced with the 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3.