The rapidly emerging category of smartphones is poised to dramatically change the worlds of mobile communications and mobile computing. One company sits right at the heart of this revolution - Symbian, the provider of the industry-standard operating system for smartphones. Symbian OS is already used in more than 32 million mobile phones worldwide. Hundreds of partner companies and many thousands of independent developers are busily creating smartphone products to take advantage of the power of Symbian OS and the opportunities it offers.

Smartphones are mobile rich portals into the ever-expanding, ever more important digital universe. As with any revolutionary new technology, Symbian OS poses challenges to software developers at a management as well as a technical level. This is the first book to address the wider set of skills and thought processes necessary to successfully complete smartphone development projects.

As a co-founder of Symbian and former executive of Psion Software, David Wood has been actively involved in well over 100 smartphone development projects worldwide. Over the time spent on these projects, he has come to understand the key issues which determine the difference between successful and unsuccessful projects for Symbian OS. This book highlights and explains:

• How to tame the awesome inner complexity of smartphone technology
• Optimal project team organisation, combining agility and reliability
• The design and the philosophy behind key features of Symbian OS
• The potential trouble spots of smartphone integration, testing, and optimisation
• How to receive the full benefit of the diverse skills in the extensive Symbian partner ecosystem
• The methods that are most likely to deliver commercial success when using Symbian OS
• The wider significance of Symbian OS skills and expertise in the evolving mobile marketplace
• The particular importance of software leaders in bringing breakthrough smartphone products to the market.