S60 Platform is a complete package of applications, user interface and development tools built upon Symbian OS technology. It has been designed to run on various models of different manufacturer's devices. In other words, an application developed for S60 Platform will run smoothly on all devices that run the same platform.
The S60 User Interface (UI) has been specifically designed for easy, one-handed use. From the user's point of view, probably the most important feature of the platform is its user interface: A large color screen (several resolutions) and the various input keys (two soft keys, five-way navigator and several dedicated keys). The principle of one-handed use and the large color screen also enables application developers to present attractive content and provide easy navigation. It is easy for any user with experience of mobile phones to grasp the basic idea of the UI.
There are also a variety of applications to be found on S60 Platform. Important amongst these are the advanced smartphone telephony applications, Personal Information Management (PIM) applications (for example, Phonebook, Calendar, Photo Album, etc.), messaging, browsing, e-mail and an installation engine that allows the user to add or remove applications to and from the platform, either via PC Connectivity or Over-the-Air downloads.
S60 Platform also provides support for applications written in the Java programming language. The Java platform implemented on S60 devices is the Java 2 Platform Mobile Edition (J2METM), which is designed for small mobile devices, such as smartphones.
Any Java application can easily be delivered over the Internet, or any network, without operating system or hardware platform compatibility issues. Java technology components run on any kind of compatible device that supports the Java platform. Note, however, that using the Nokia-specific Nokia UI API included in the SDK affects the portability of your application.
The Java Implementation Notes delivered with the SDK documentation set (see Java API Documentation > JavaTM Implementation Notes) provide information on the S60-specific implementation details of the Java APIs provided with the SDK, including a list of supported and unsupported features as well as any class-level differences existing compared to reference implementation.
For more information about S60 platform, see the S60 website at http://www.s60.com/.