Symbian Signed - background

One application testing & certification process for the whole Symbian OS industry

Symbian Signed, the industry-endorsed application signing program that promotes best practice in Symbian OS content and application development, was publicly launched on May 18, 2004. The program tests applications against industry-agreed criteria in support of requirements from network operators and mobile manufacturers. Visit Symbian Signed website here>> 

The program also delivers developer authentication and anti-tamper security for Symbian OS applications. The signing means that the application has passed the test criteria and is digitally signed ("sealed") to guarantee the source and integrity of the application. The aim is to increase the maturity among developers, the general quality of applications coming to market and the trust among consumers for Symbian OS applications.

Symbian Signed is designed to satisfy mobile developers' needs and to ensure a thriving, open market for trusted mobile applications by providing a single, low-cost and unified certification program. Benefits for developers include consistent testing criteria and a common process that will greatly simplify certification of your applications across all Symbian OS phones. Developers who have achieved Symbian Signed have the right to use the "For Symbian OS" logo.

The Symbian Signed program tests and certifies all .sis files, i.e. all C++ and Java CDC based applications. (Java ME Platform based CLDC applications are tested and certified through the Java Verified program.)

From July 1, 2004, all new Symbian applications submitted for commercial distribution to the Sony Ericsson Application Shop are required to have passed the Symbian Signed certification, so consumers can safely download any application from the Application Shop. In order to ensure that the application the consumer chooses to install has not been tampered with, Sony Ericsson encourages all smartphone users to download and install signed applications only. It is recommended to not accept any Bluetooth transferred files from unknown sources.

What is required to download a Symbian Signed application to a Sony Ericsson UIQ-based phone?

In order to install an application that is "Symbian Signed", consumers must have a Symbian root certificate in their phone. Sony Ericsson P800 smartphones, launched already in December 2002 - long before the Symbian Signed program was being set up, do not have this root certificate preinstalled, but it is pretty straight-forward to install it on the phone.

Instructions are provided in a zip file, along with the Certification_installation.sis file: Download Symbian Signed root certificate for the P800>>

All other Sony Ericsson UIQ-based phones (e.g. P900, P910, P990, P1, M600, W950, W960, G700 and G900) should have a Symbian root certificate preinstalled from the factory. If you have accidentally erased it from your phone it is possible to use the same procedures as if you had a P800 to reinstall the root certificate.

Will existing P800/P900/P910 applications run without modification on Sony Ericsson's UIQ 3-based phones?

No, applications will have to be rewritten and recertified. The UIQ 3-based phones run both different OS version and software platform versions. Additional security requirements in Symbian OS v9 will not allow previous applications to run on UIQ 3-based phones such as the P990, P1 or M600. A new tools chain has been introduced to improve performance in code size etc which means that the code compilation looks differently. The UIQ platform framework has also been updated to support new input modes, so UIQ 3 based applications will have a completely new code base.