Nokia Series 40 Platform, often shortened as S40, is a

software platform A computing platform, digital platform, or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the ''summation of the requi ...

and application

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

(UI) software that was previously used on

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

's broad range of mid-tier

feature phone Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

s from 2002 to 2014, as well as on some of the Vertu line of luxury phones. It was at one point the world's most widely used mobile phone platform and found in hundreds of millions of

mobile phones A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

. Series 40 was more advanced than Nokia's

Series 30 Nokia Series 30, often shortened as S30, is a software platform and application user interface that was previously used by Nokia for its basic entry-level mobile phones. Unlike Series 40, Series 30 phones are not capable of running J2ME, Java a ...

. It was not however used for

smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...

(where Nokia used

Symbian Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. It was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for personal digital assistants in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian OS ...

at the time, and later

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design languag ...

) and differentiates from them by not supporting true multi-tasking and do not have a native code API for third parties and thus do not support installable applications other than (with few exceptions) MIDlets that are written in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. However, the simplicity of the system made it more responsive compared to Nokia's Series 60 smartphones. The final Series 40 phone was released in 2013, after which Nokia feature phones switched to a different platform, Series 30+.

History

The first Series 40 handset was 2002's Nokia 7210 with a 128x128 pixel, colour display. However in a retrospective press release from 2012, Nokia, possibly as a typo error, cited the first Series 40 phone to be the Nokia 7110 released in 1999, which had a 96 × 65 pixel monochrome display and was the first phone to come with a WAP browser. Nokia announced on 25 January 2012 that the company had sold over 1.5 billion Series 40 devices. In 2012 and 2013, several Series 40 phones from the

Asha ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...

line, such as the 308, 309 and 311, were advertised as "

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s" although they do not actually support smartphone features like multitasking or a fully fledged

HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...

browser. The final mobile phone running Series 40 was the Nokia 515 from 2013, running the 6th Edition. In 2014,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

acquired Nokia's mobile phones business. As part of a licensing agreement with the company, Microsoft Mobile was allowed to use the Nokia brand on feature phones, such as the Series 40 range. However, a July 2014 company memo revealed that Microsoft would end future production of Series 40 devices. It was replaced by Series 30+.

Versions

The original version of Series 40 was classified by Nokia as: "a UI category for Nokia 128x128 pixel screen resolution. It comprises a passive matrix colour screen with two soft keys." The earliest products running these were Nokia 7210 and Nokia 3510i. An improved resolution of 128x160 and a three soft keys interface was first seen on the Nokia 6650 (globally released in second quarter 2003). This also appeared on Nokia 7600. The second generation of the Series 40 platform, often called the 2nd Edition, first shipped with the Nokia 6230. This new version updates Java support to MIDP 2.0. In 2005, the Nokia 6230i was introduced with a higher 208x208 resolution display and this also appeared on

Nokia 8800 The Nokia 8800 (pronounced ''eighty-eight-hundred'') is a luxury mobile phone produced by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 40 operating system. The 8800 features a stainless-steel housing with a scratch-resistant screen and has a weight of 134 Gra ...

and 8801.Series 40 3rd Edition was launched in 2005, the first handsets shipping with it being the Nokia 6111, 6270 and 6280. This new version is more closely aligned to the Series 60 user interface and introduces Active Standby, a more detailed idle screen with quicker access to apps and displaying of calendar and notes. This version also supports improved higher resolution QVGA (240x320 pixels) displays, although some handsets continued to use lower 128x160 resolution such as Nokia 5200 and 6111. The updated Feature Pack 1 of S40v3 adds support for

Adobe Flash Lite Adobe Flash Lite (formerly Macromedia Flash Lite) is a discontinued lightweight version of Adobe Flash Player, a software application published by Adobe Systems for viewing Flash content. Flash Lite operates on devices that Flash Player cannot, ...

mobile 3D graphics. Nokia 6233 and 6125 were some of the earliest to run this version. Feature Pack 2 added further additional features, including a new music player, playing in background, A2DP profile for Bluetooth, and the possibility of using Flash Lite SWF format animations as live wallpapers. Nokia 5300, 7373 and 7390 were the first to run S40v3 FP2. Series 40 5th Edition (skipping the number 4 as was Nokia's habit) was released in 2007 with the earliest shipping devices being Nokia 6500 classic, Nokia 6500 slide and Nokia 7500 Prism. This version of Series 40 also upgrades to version 2.1 of Flash Lite. Series 40 6th Edition first shipped with Nokia 7510 Supernova in late 2008. This version has updated Flash Lite 3, has support for WMA 10 and WMV 9, an improved web browser, and UI animations. The updated Feature Pack 1 of the 6th Edition adds

touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

support for the Touch and Type phones such as Nokia X3-02 and Nokia Asha 300. Subsequent versions were named Series 40 Developer Platform.

Technical information

Applications

Series 40 provides communication applications such as telephone, Internet telephony (

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

), messaging, email client with

POP3 In computing, the Post Office Protocol (POP) is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. Today, POP version 3 (POP3) is the most commonly used version. Together with IMAP, i ...

and IMAP4 capabilities and

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

; media applications such as camera, video recorder, music/video player and FM radio; and phonebook and other

personal information management Personal information management (PIM) is the study and implementation of the activities that people perform in order to acquire or create, store, organize, maintain, retrieve, and use informational items such as documents (paper-based and digital ...

(PIM) applications such as calendar and tasks. Basic file management, like in Series 60, is provided in the Applications and Gallery folders and subfolders. Gallery is also the default location for files transferred over

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

to be placed. User-installed applications on Series 40 are generally mobile Java applications. Flash Lite applications are also supported, but mostly used for screensavers. BREW applications are also supported too, but for some Qualcomm based Nokia CDMA phones only. It is possible to customize the look and feel of the UI via comprehensive themes.

Web browser

The integrated web browser can access most web content through the service provider's

XHTML Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) is part of the family of XML markup languages which mirrors or extends versions of the widely used HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the language in which Web pages are formulated. While HTML, pr ...

gateway. The latest version of Series 40, called Series 40 6th Edition, introduced a new browser based on the

WebKit WebKit is a browser engine primarily used in Apple's Safari web browser, as well as all web browsers on iOS and iPadOS. WebKit is also used by the PlayStation consoles starting with the PS3, the Tizen mobile operating systems, the Amazon K ...

open source components WebCore and JavaScriptCore. The new browser delivers support for

4.01, CSS2,

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

1.5, and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. Also, like the higher-end Series 60, Series 40 can run the

UC Browser UC Browser is a web browser developed by mobile internet company UCWeb, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. It was the most popular mobile browser in India, Indonesia, and Mali, as well as the second-most popular one in China as of 2017. Its w ...

web browser to enhance the user's web browsing experience. The latest feature phones from the Asha lineup come with the Nokia Xpress Browser which uses proxy servers to compress and optimize web pages in a similar fashion as Opera Mini.

Synchronization

Support for

SyncML SyncML, or Synchronization Markup Language, was originally developed as a platform-independent standard for information synchronization. Established by the SyncML Initiative, this project has evolved to become a key component in data synchroniza ...

synchronization of the address book, calendar and notes with external services is present. However, with many S40 phones, these synchronization settings must be sent via an OTA text message.

Software platform

Series 40 is an

embedded software Embedded software is computer software, written to control machines or devices that are not typically thought of as computers, commonly known as embedded systems. It is typically specialized for the particular hardware that it runs on and has tim ...

platform that is open for software development via standard or de facto content and application development technologies. It supports

MIDlets, i.e. Java MIDP and

CLDC The Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) is a specification of a Software framework, framework for Java ME applications describing the basic set of libraries and virtual-machine features that must be present in an implementation. The CLDC i ...

technology, which provide location, communication, messaging, media, and graphics capabilities. S40 also supports Flash Lite applications. A small number of

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

network Nokia phones were released based on

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

processors which run Series 40 on top of REX OS, such as the Nokia 3806. These Series 40 devices support BREW platform applications.

List of devices

The following is a list of Series 40 devices released by Nokia: Nokia 1xxx series * Nokia 1680 classic Nokia 2xxx series * Nokia 2220 slide * Nokia 2320 classic * Nokia 2323 classic * Nokia 2330 classic *

Nokia 2355 Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, in the Helsinki metr ...

* Nokia 2600 classic * Nokia 2610 * Nokia 2626 * Nokia 2630 * Nokia 2650 *

Nokia 2660 The following is a list of products branded by Nokia. Current products and services Products by Nokia Technologies Wi-Fi routers * Nokia Wi-Fi Beacon 1 * Nokia Wi-Fi Beacon 3 Digital audio * Nokia OZO Audio Smart TVs Nokia markets smart TVs ...

* Nokia 2680 slide * Nokia 2690 * Nokia 2700 classic * Nokia 2710 * Nokia 2720 fold * Nokia 2730 classic * Nokia 2760 * Nokia 2855 * Nokia 2855i * Nokia 2865 * Nokia 2865i Nokia 3xxx series * Nokia 3100 * Nokia 3105 * Nokia 3108 * Nokia 3109 classic * Nokia 3110 classic * Nokia 3110 Evolve * Nokia 3120 * Nokia 3120 classic * Nokia 3125 * Nokia 3128 * Nokia 3152 * Nokia 3155 * Nokia 3155i * Nokia 3200 * Nokia 3205 * Nokia 3220 * Nokia 3300 * Nokia 3300 Americas * Nokia 3500 classic * Nokia 3510i * Nokia 3555 * Nokia 3585i * Nokia 3586 * Nokia 3586i * Nokia 3587 * Nokia 3587i * Nokia 3595 *

Nokia 3600 slide The Nokia 3600 slide is a mobile phone by Nokia that was released in August 2008. The phone runs the Series 40 5th Edition platform. This is classed as the 'low end version' of the Nokia 6600 slide, its major difference being the lack of 3G s ...

* Nokia 3610 * Nokia 3710 fold * Nokia 3720 classic Nokia 5xxx series * Nokia 5000 * Nokia 5070 * Nokia 5100 *

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is a mobile phone manufactured by Nokia. It belongs to the XpressMusic series of phones, and runs on Nokia's Series 40 platform. The phone used to be one of the best selling Nokia phones in India. Main features The phone' ...

* Nokia 5140 * Nokia 5140i * Nokia 5200 * Nokia 5220 XpressMusic * Nokia 5300 XpressMusic * Nokia 5310 XpressMusic ** Nokia 5330 XpressMusic ** Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition ** Nokia 5610 XpressMusic Nokia 6xxx series * Nokia 6010 * Nokia 6012 * Nokia 6015 * Nokia 6015i *

Nokia 6020 The Nokia 6020 and 6021 are feature phones made by Nokia, running the Series 40 platform. The Nokia 6020 has a camera and no Bluetooth support, while the Nokia 6021 has Bluetooth and does not have a camera. The Nokia 6020 was introduced in No ...

* Nokia 6021 * Nokia 6030 * Nokia 6060 * Nokia 6070 *

Nokia 6080 The following is a list of products branded by Nokia. Current products and services Products by Nokia Technologies Wi-Fi routers * Nokia Wi-Fi Beacon 1 * Nokia Wi-Fi Beacon 3 Digital audio * Nokia OZO Audio Smart TVs Nokia markets smart TVs ...

* Nokia 6085 * Nokia 6086 * Nokia 6100 * Nokia 6101 * Nokia 6102 * Nokia 6102i *

Nokia 6103 The Nokia 6103 is a mobile phone based on the Nokia Series 40 platform and the Nokia 6103 builds upon the popularity of the 6101. It features a Thin-film transistor, TFT display supports up to 65,536 colors (128 x 160 pixels).The phone also has a ...

* Nokia 6108 * Nokia 6111 * Nokia 6125 * Nokia 6126 *

Nokia 6131 The Nokia 6131/6133 is a Flip (form), clamshell cell phone introduced by Nokia on February 13, 2006. The Nokia 6131 has improvements over its predecessor, the Nokia 6101, as such, native USB connectivity (only CA-53 cable or compatible is support ...

* Nokia 6131 NFC * Nokia 6133 * Nokia 6136 * Nokia 6151 * Nokia 6152 * Nokia 6155 * Nokia 6155i *

Nokia 6165 Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

* Nokia 6170 * Nokia 6200* * Nokia 6208 classic * Nokia 6212 classic * Nokia 6216 classic * Nokia 6220 * Nokia 6225 * Nokia 6230 * Nokia 6230i * Nokia 6233 * Nokia 6234 * Nokia 6235 * Nokia 6235i * Nokia 6255 * Nokia 6260 slide * Nokia 6263 * Nokia 6265 * Nokia 6265i * Nokia 6267 * Nokia 6270 * Nokia 6275 * Nokia 6275i * Nokia 6280 * Nokia 6282 * Nokia 6288 * Nokia 6300 * Nokia 6300i * Nokia 6301 * Nokia 6303 classic * Nokia 6303i classic * Nokia 6350 * Nokia 6500 classic * Nokia 6500 slide * Nokia 6555 * Nokia 6585 * Nokia 6560 * Nokia 6600 fold * Nokia 6600 slide * Nokia 6600i * Nokia 6610 * Nokia 6610i * Nokia 6700 Classic * Nokia 6750 Mural * Nokia 6800 * Nokia 6810 * Nokia 6820 * Nokia 6822 Nokia 7xxx series: * Nokia 7020 * Nokia 7070 * Nokia 7100 Supernova * Nokia 7110 * Nokia 7200 * Nokia 7210 * Nokia 7210 Supernova * Nokia 7230 * Nokia 7250 * Nokia 7260 * Nokia 7270 *

Nokia 7280 The Nokia 7280 is a GSM mobile phone designed and developed by Nokia, and has been popularly nicknamed the "lipstick" phone. It was announced on 9 September 2004 alongside the Nokia 7270 and Nokia 7260, all as part of their fashion line of mobil ...

* Nokia 7310 Supernova * Nokia 7360 * Nokia 7370 * Nokia 7373 * Nokia 7380 * Nokia 7390 * Nokia 7500 Prism * Nokia 7510 Supernova * Nokia 7600 * Nokia 7610 Supernova * Nokia 7900 Prism * Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism Nokia 8xxx series * Nokia 8600 Luna *

* * Nokia 8800 Sirocco * Nokia 8800 Arte * Nokia 8800 Gold Arte *

Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte The Nokia 8800 (pronounced ''eighty-eight-hundred'') is a luxury mobile phone produced by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 40 operating system. The 8800 features a stainless-steel housing with a scratch-resistant screen and has a weight of 134 ...

* Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte * Nokia 8910i Nokia Cseries: * Nokia C1-01 * Nokia C1-02 * Nokia C2-00 * Nokia C2-01 * Nokia C2-02 * Nokia C2-03 * Nokia C2-05 * Nokia C2-06 * Nokia C3-00 * Nokia C3 Touch and Type Nokia Xseries (Not to be confused with Nokia X Family): * Nokia X2-00 * Nokia X2-01 * Nokia X2-02 * Nokia X2-05 * Nokia X3-00 * Nokia X3-02 Nokia Asha series * Nokia Asha 200/201 * Nokia Asha 202 * Nokia Asha 203 * Nokia Asha 205 * Nokia Asha 210 * Nokia Asha 300 * Nokia Asha 301 * Nokia Asha 302 * Nokia Asha 303 * Nokia Asha 305 * Nokia Asha 306 * Nokia Asha 308 * Nokia Asha 309 * Nokia Asha 310 * Nokia Asha 311

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Series 40 Series 40 Mobile software Embedded operating systems Mobile operating systems 1999 software