Series 40 and Symbian devices use a number of different display resolutions, starting with the 128 x 128 pixel screens of early devices. From Series 40 3rd Edition and S60 3rd Edition FP2 onwards, all devices support at least the 240 x 320 pixel resolution, also known as Quarter VGA (QVGA). The QVGA resolution is common enough to be recommended as the primary target resolution for designing MIDlet UIs.
To find out which devices use which display resolution, see Nokia Developer device specifications and filter devices based on display resolution.
Because of the variety of display resolutions, when displaying icons in a MIDlet, use vector graphics (SVG) icons whenever possible. Unlike bitmap icons, vector graphics icons can be scaled to any resolution.
To determine the color depth of a device, use the LCDUI Display.numColors or eSWT Device.getDepth method, depending on which
UI API you are using.
The Series 40 platform supports the following display resolutions:
128 x 128
128 x 160
208 x 208 (only on a few Series 40 2nd Edition and Series 40 3rd Edition FP1 devices)
240 x 320 (QVGA)
240 x 400 (WQVGA)
320 x 480 (since Series 40 6th Edition)
The minimum supported color depth is 16-bit. Newer devices support color depths up to 24-bit.
The Series 40 UI can be scaled between different-sized resolutions. From Java Runtime 2.0.0 for Series 40 onwards, MIDlet UIs can also be scaled between landscape and portrait modes. For more information, see section Scalability.
The Symbian platform supports the following display resolutions:
176 x 208 (discontinued after S60 3rd Edition)
240 x 320 (QVGA)
352 x 416 (discontinued after S60 3rd Edition)
360 x 640 (ninth HD, nHD)
640 x 480 (VGA)
Although there is some variation between Symbian devices, in the majority of cases, you can rely on the display resolution of a device to be either 176 x 208 / 352 x 416 pixels, if the platform release is earlier than S60 3rd Edition, or 240 x 320 pixels, if the platform release is newer than that. The supported color depth ranges from 12-bit (early devices) to 24-bit (newer devices).
There are some devices with irregular display resolutions, such as the Nokia 5500, which has a 208 x 208 pixel resolution.
The Symbian UI is scalable between landscape and portrait modes, meaning that the width and height of the screen can be dynamically switched depending on device orientation. In landscape mode, some UI elements, such as softkeys, can change places. MIDlets designed for a specific resolution can be scaled to other resolutions supported by the device. For more information, see section Scalability.
Series 40 and Symbian devices use the following types of QVGA displays:
QVGA1 is used in devices whose physical display is smaller than 2.4 inches
QVGA2 is used in devices whose physical display is larger than 2.4 inches
QVGA1 usually has larger icons when measured in pixels, while QVGA2 has more screen space available outside full screen mode.