Symbian Certification Program Launched

Symbian Limited announced today the formal launch of Symbian Signed, its application signing program that promotes best practise in Symbian OS content and application development. The program tests applications against industry-agreed criteria in support of network operator and mobile manufacturer requirements.

Symbian Signed is designed to satisfy mobile developers' needs and ensures a thriving, open market for trusted mobile applications by providing a single, low-cost and unified certification program. The program also delivers developer authentication and anti-tamper security for Symbian OS applications. More than 300 Symbian native C++ and Visual Basic application and their associated content have reached Symbian Signed status.

Symbian Signed offers three signing options to support the different needs of the Symbian OS ecosystem. These options are:

  Test House Certification: Suitable for ISVs with a small number of applications. Applications are submitted to the Symbian Signed portal and tested by an independent third party test house

  Self Certification: Suitable for ISVs with more than 15 of their own applications that require Symbian Signed status. ISVs or network operators certify their own applications through the re-use of internal, recognised Quality Assurance processes

  Publisher Certification: Suitable for application publishers, Symbian OS licensees and network operators or any public software distribution portal owner. The publisher tests and certifies the application using its own quality assurance processes on behalf of the originating ISV

The Symbian Signed typically guarantees that a signed application:
  no files remains on the phone when the application is uninstalled
  the application only creates files on the drive where it has been installed unless the user has explicitely given permission to write files elsewhere.
  the application can be closed through the applications task list.
  the application detects low memory conditions and behaves correctly. Typically it should not start under particularly low memory conditions as this may compromise other key functionality of the phone.
  the application pauses when necessary, for example when there's an incoming call
  the application does not crash when storage memory is full.
  the application consumes too much system resources
  the application has been signed against a valid developer identity certificate.

Typical price is 560 Euros for the first submission of an application and 280 Euros for the following submissions (which should correct issues detected at the previous submissions). The full signing process is described on Symbian Signed portal.

A second version of the Symbian Signed should also be launched in H2-2004 and targeted at freeware developpers so that their applications can be installed on forthcoming devices that only accept signed applications.

The full press release is available there.