80-459: Nokia phones beta labs is a service in which beta software for Nokia smartphones are available for public download. The service was originally launched as Nokia Beta Labs in 2007 by Nokia for S60 -based Symbian devices, and later for the company's Windows Phone -based Lumia line. After the sale of the Nokia mobile devices division to Microsoft, the website was renamed Lumia Beta Apps . It
160-401: A boxed version of Apple 's Mac OS X Public Beta operating system was released. Between September 2005 and May 2006, Microsoft released community technology preview s ( CTP s) for Windows Vista . From 2009 to 2011, Minecraft was in public beta. In February 2005, ZDNet published an article about the phenomenon of a beta version often staying for years and being used as if it were at
240-537: A closed beta , or an open beta ; closed beta versions are released to a restricted group of individuals for a user test by invitation, while open beta testers are from a larger group, or anyone interested. Private beta could be suitable for the software that is capable of delivering value but is not ready to be used by everyone either due to scaling issues, lack of documentation or still missing vital features. The testers report any bugs that they find, and sometimes suggest additional features they think should be available in
320-438: A feature freeze , indicating that no more features will be added to the software. At this time, the software is said to be feature-complete . A beta test is carried out following acceptance testing at the supplier's site (the alpha test) and immediately before the general release of the software as a product. A feature-complete (FC) version of a piece of software has all of its planned or primary features implemented but
400-403: A preview , preview release , prototype , technical preview or technology preview ( TP ), or early access . Beta testers are people who actively report issues with beta software. They are usually customers or representatives of prospective customers of the organization that develops the software. Beta testers tend to volunteer their services free of charge but often receive versions of
480-673: A Nokia Android smartphone codenamed Normandy , along with the cancelled Meltineme Project on Lumia hardware, which was eventually introduced as the Nokia X series in February 2014, featuring a heavily customized version of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and released in emerging markets. The acquisition was completed just two months later, and Microsoft discontinued the X series soon afterward. In an interview with Forbes , former HMD CEO Arto Nummela stated that
560-416: A V, such as the Nokia 8V Pureview In April 2021, a new two-digit nomenclature was introduced with the launch of the G series and X series alongside the existing C series. Nokia is in partnership with Google, and their Nokia-branded smartphones run Google's Android operating system. The software has minimal customizations and is stock Android, with some notable customizations including tweaked icons with
640-467: A beta version to the users is called beta release and is typically the first time that the software is available outside of the organization that developed it. Software beta releases can be either open or closed , depending on whether they are openly available or only available to a limited audience. Beta version software is often useful for demonstrations and previews within an organization and to prospective customers. Some developers refer to this stage as
720-501: A licensing agreement with Nokia Corporation which included giving it use of cellular standard essential patent licenses. Nokia has said this move is "uniting one of the world's iconic mobile brands with the leading mobile operating system". Some factories of Microsoft Mobile, including one located in Vietnam , had been sold to Foxconn , the world's largest electronics manufacturer. It was agreed that HMD products would be manufactured in
800-453: A marketing strategy advertising Nokia phones as "pure, secure and up to date" (referring to a stock Android interface and its commitment to fast updates) as well as brand trust and nostalgia. Nokia was one of the largest global mobile phone and smartphone makers until it began to struggle in maintaining market leadership due to the rise of more innovative smartphone offerings from Apple , Samsung and Google . Due to various factors, Nokia
880-493: A means of introducing its Windows Phone mobile operating system, which was itself struggling to establish any kind of significant market presence. The range of Microsoft Lumia smartphones did not gain significant traction in the highly competitive smartphone market dominated by Android and iOS devices. There were further internal struggles, as Microsoft tried to reconcile the Nokia brand with its own objectives under Microsoft Mobile . By October 2014, Microsoft decided to drop
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#1732797613591960-523: A mobile software cybersecurity company. Starting in 2023, HMD has considered dropping the Nokia branding in favor of the generic HMD brand in order to diversify its portfolio. This came to fruition with the 2024 release of the HMD Vibe as the first non-Nokia HMD smartphone. The product naming of Nokia devices has historically been based on the numerical system, with new Nokia-branded Android smartphones being named from 1 to 9; with Nokia 1 series being
1040-740: A more general blue theme, a different camera app, and the additions of the classic Nokia startup tone and the Nokia tune ringtone. HMD calls it "pure, secure and up-to-date", claiming it does not contain Software bloat or additional software and that the phones will get fast software updates compared to other OEMs. It can be seen as a spiritual successor to Google's former Nexus series, which were known for running stock Android. HMD's launch devices came preloaded with Android version 7 "Nougat" . Devices released after 2017 come preloaded with Android 8 "Oreo" or Android 9 "Pie" . Devices released after December 2019 come with Android 10 "Q" , however it
1120-686: A new version of the Lumia Creative Studio called Lumia Creative Studio Beta that added support for living images if the photographs were captured with the Lumia Camera. On 11 September 2015 Microsoft announced that they would no longer accept any feedback via the Lumia Beta Apps site and would archive all older feedback and encouraged users to send feedback via the Windows Insider feedback application or through
1200-409: A partnership with Microsoft in 2011, with Symbian to be relegated. Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt confirmed that the company held extensive "confidential negotiations" with Nokia to encourage using Android. Despite this, Nokia still experimented with Android that year and leaked images showed a Nokia N9 prototype running Android. In late 2013 when Microsoft announced its intention to purchase
1280-462: A software product is available for purchase, depending, however, on language, region, and electronic vs. media availability. Commercialization activities could include security and compliance tests, as well as localization and worldwide availability. The time between RTM and GA can take from days to months before a generally available release can be declared, due to the time needed to complete all commercialization activities required by GA. At this stage,
1360-575: Is KaiOS for Nokia 8110 4G , Nokia 800 Tough , Nokia 2720 Flip , Nokia 6300 4G and Nokia 8000 4G, debuted on Nokia 8110 4G . The newer KaiOS - based system is integrated with many of Google 's services. KaiOS phones have an appstore, UC Browser can be downloaded. Nokia 8110 4G have the graphical user interface similar to the Smart Feature OS in Nokia 3310 3G . Since late 2023, HMD has collaborated with CloudMosa to introduce various cloud-based widgets for feature phones using
1440-412: Is called code complete when the development team agrees that no entirely new source code will be added to this release. There could still be source code changes to fix defects, changes to documentation and data files, and peripheral code for test cases or utilities. Beta testers, if privately selected, will often be credited for using the release candidate as though it were a finished product. Beta testing
1520-740: Is conducted in a client's or customer's location and to test the software from a user's perspective. Also called production release , the stable release is the last release candidate ( RC ) which has passed all stages of verification and tests. Any known remaining bugs are considered acceptable. This release goes to production . Some software products (e.g. Linux distributions like Debian ) also have long-term support ( LTS ) releases which are based on full releases that have already been tried and tested and receive only security updates. This allows developers to allocate more time toward product development instead of updating code or finding and fixing newly introduced bugs due to outdated assumptions about
1600-569: Is confirmed that some phones will get an update to Android 10 "Q" . Former CEO Arto Nummela, said in a June 2017 interview that HMD is a "first tier partner with Google." In August 2019 Counterpoint research said that "Nokia Leads the Global Rankings in Updating Smartphone Software and Security [out of 3rd party Android OEMs]". According to Exhibit 2: Time Taken by Top 10 Manufacturers to Upgrade Portfolios to
1680-634: Is continuously being updated and improved, and is never considered to be a fully completed product. This approach allows for a more agile development process and enables the software to be released and used by users earlier in the development cycle. Pre-alpha refers to all activities performed during the software project before formal testing. These activities can include requirements analysis , software design , software development , and unit testing . In typical open source development, there are several types of pre-alpha versions. Milestone versions include specific sets of functions and are released as soon as
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#17327976135911760-589: Is headed by Raun Forsyth and Alasdair McPhail. The Nokia 5 , 6, and 8 are made from a single block of 6000 series aluminium , while the 7 is crafted from 7000 series aluminum. The Nokia 8 Sirocco is crafted from a single block of stainless steel . In 2017 Nokia started resurrecting its classic devices. This began in May 2017 when a new 3310 handset was introduced at the Mobile World Congress. It sported an updated but similar design language to
1840-557: Is headquartered in Espoo , Finland, and is largely run by former Nokia executives. The first CEO was Arto Nummela, a Nokia veteran of 17 years, until July 2017, when company president Florian Seiche took over as CEO. Manufacturing is outsourced to Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile. Nokia has an investment in HMD, and remains a partner, setting mandatory requirements and providing patents and technologies, in return for royalty payments . HMD uses
1920-486: Is made up of the mobile phone business that the Nokia Corporation sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smartphones and feature phones on 1 December 2016. The company has exclusive rights to the Nokia brand for mobile phones through a licensing agreement. The HMD brand was initially only used for corporate purposes and does not appear in advertising, whereas
2000-452: Is not yet final due to bugs , performance or stability issues. This occurs at the end of alpha testing in development . Usually, feature-complete software still has to undergo beta testing and bug fixing , as well as performance or stability enhancement before it can go to release candidate , and finally gold status. Beta, named after the second letter of the Greek alphabet , is
2080-563: Is released as a final version, or is removed from the site and placed in an archive. The site facilitates beta applications being developed by Microsoft or select 3rd party developers for Lumia products. The applications are, of reasonably good quality, but may have rough edges and occasional service breaks, not commercialized yet, not guaranteed, and not officially supported, under active development, free of charge and not be used for commercial purposes Applications may graduate to become commercial offerings, or they will be archived along with
2160-446: Is sold as part of a bundle in a related computer hardware sale and typically where the software and related hardware is ultimately to be available and sold on mass/public basis at retail stores to indicate that the software has met a defined quality level and is ready for mass retail distribution. RTM could also mean in other contexts that the software has been delivered or released to a client or customer for installation or distribution to
2240-637: Is the Lumia Camera user interface, which had been highly praised by critics since appearing on the Nokia Lumia 1020 . On 16 August 2017, HMD introduced their first flagship Nokia smartphone, the Nokia 8 . Its most distinguishing features are Dual Sight, allowing live streaming with both the front and rear Zeiss cameras (referred to as "bothie", a pun on " selfie "), and OZO Audio, which contains spatial 360° audio technology derived from Nokia's high-end OZO camera. In September 2017, HMD acquired
2320-409: Is typically the final build of a piece of software in the beta stages for developers. Typically, for iOS , it is the final build before a major release, however, there have been a few exceptions. RTM is typically used in certain retail mass-production software contexts—as opposed to a specialized software production or project in a commercial or government production and distribution—where the software
2400-571: The 32-bit editions of Windows XP and two service packs for the 64-bit editions. Such service releases contain a collection of updates, fixes, and enhancements, delivered in the form of a single installable package. They may also implement new features. Some software is released with the expectation of regular support. Classes of software that generally involve protracted support as the norm include anti-virus suites and massively multiplayer online games . Continuing with this Windows XP example, Microsoft did offer paid updates for five more years after
2480-482: The Nokia Eseries , Microsoft Lumia and Nokia Asha product lines. By the early 2010s, Nokia had lost major market share in the mobile phone market, and was overtaken by Apple and Samsung. In 2014, Nokia's mobile phone business was sold to Microsoft, along with the right to use the Nokia brand for mobile phones for ten years. The sale did not end the woes of the business. Microsoft used the brand primarily as
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2560-571: The Windows Insider Program launched in 2014 are termed "Insider Preview builds". "Beta" may also indicate something more like a release candidate , or as a form of time-limited demo, or marketing technique. HMD Global Human Mobile Devices ( HMD ), formally HMD Global , is a Finnish independent mobile phone manufacturer. The company is owned by the Luxembourgish holding company Smart Connect GL . The company
2640-614: The Windows Phone Store , despite the discontinuation of the website no Lumia Beta App would be immediately removed from the store. Nokia Beta Labs was reintroduced for Android -based Nokia smartphones in 2017 by HMD Global as Nokia phones beta labs. Software release life cycle#Beta The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system ). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before
2720-409: The graphical user interface similar to the Smart Feature OS in Nokia 3310 3G , albeit with the lack of animation and J2ME applications support. "Smart Feature OS" is an operating system providing some smart capabilities in devices with a feature phone form factor. Smart Feature OS is based on Java for Nokia 3310 3G only. The phone use Opera Mini 4 as the default browser. Another OS used by HMD
2800-467: The original , which debuted in September 2000. This device was still a feature phone but it shipped with a fresh operating system, colored display, and Nokia native applications. After the success of this initiative, Nokia again rebooted one of its classic phones, the Nokia 8110 , which featured a 4G update, excellent battery life, and classic Nokia apps . Nokia and Zeiss has been partners since
2880-425: The "alpha/beta" test terminology originated at IBM . Similar terminologies for IBM's software development were used by people involved with IBM from at least the 1950s (and probably earlier). "A" test was the verification of a new product before the public announcement. The "B" test was the verification before releasing the product to be manufactured. The "C" test was the final test before the general availability of
2960-584: The Beta app as "Lumia Camera Classic" while implementing the new features in the Lumia Camera app, and has added OneDrive integration to Lumia Cinemagraph (formerly Nokia Cinemagraph ) after first trialing it in the Lumia Beta Apps site. On 25 February 2015 Join Conference (previously Nokia Conference ) was made public for all Windows Phones but republished under the Microsoft Garage and reduced
3040-682: The Chinese market, AliOS . After the announcement of Google's Open Handset Alliance in November 2007, Nokia said it "considered" joining the alliance, despite its majority stake in Symbian Software Nokia eventually did not join and instead created the rival Symbian Foundation in 2008 after taking control of the Symbian operating system and making it open source . In 2010 as competition stiffened, Nokia lost some partners of
3120-501: The Cloud Phone technology. The design language of Nokia smartphones from HMD consists of typical Scandinavian design and aesthetics , and are considered to be reminiscent of the previous Microsoft Lumia series, with clean and minimal styling. When HMD was formed in 2016, it stated that it wanted to develop phones that stay loyal to Nokia's popular heritage of "design, robustness and reliability". The company's design team
3200-685: The Cloud Phone technology. Cloud Phone is a platform that allows 4G feature phones to use various modern third-party services through the cloud. This partnership marks the first time that Nokia Series 30+ devices are capable of accessing YouTube, Shorts, TikTok, Google Sign-in Services, and real-time modern web applications. The first device to support Cloud Apps on Series 30+ is the Nokia 110 4G (2023), with all devices released in 2023 onwards set to feature this capability through OTA updates. On 24 April 2024, HMD launched three new 4G feature phones: Nokia 215 4G, 225 4G, 235 4G, and Nokia 3210, all supporting
3280-495: The FIH/Foxconn factories. The total sale to both HMD Global and FIH Mobile amounted to US$ 350 million. HMD have decided to spend US$ 500 million in supporting the marketing of the new products over the next three years. In addition the company is backed by a Luxembourg -based private equity fund called Smart Connect LP, run by Jean-François Baril, who was senior vice president of Nokia from 1999 to 2012. On 1 December 2016,
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3360-590: The Latest Android Version , Nokia were, over the 12 months following Android 9's launch, in first place for % of [Smartphone] Portfolio Updated to Android Pie. However, with the increasing product portfolio Nokia could not keep to this high standards and updates are delayed longer and distributed less frequently. The phones typically receive updates for two to three years. On feature phones, HMD has used Series 30+, Smart Feature OS powered by Java for Nokia 3310 3G and KaiOS for Nokia 8110 4G and in
3440-537: The Nokia Pro Camera app for Zeiss camera phones. The classic 8110 was also reintroduced. In late July 2018, HMD announced vacancy for a team to expand the business in USA. For the Chinese market, Nokia X6 was announced, which got a worldwide release as Nokia 6.1 Plus. Another Chinese-market device, called Nokia X5, was later announced. Both of these have bezel-less screens. These devices are direct successors to
3520-666: The Nokia X family surprisingly became popular with users of high-end Samsung and Apple smartphone devices, despite the fact that it was a mid to low end device series. After the sale, the Nokia Technologies division developed the N1 Android tablet, featuring the Z Launcher interface, released in China in 2015. Later that year, images of an N1-like phone with Android called the C1 were leaked. Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri confirmed
3600-627: The Nokia brand in favor of its Microsoft-branded Lumia smartphone range with the release of Microsoft Lumia 535 , while only the featurephone segment kept the Nokia brand. The CEO of Nokia, Rajeev Suri , said in June 2015 that the Nokia brand would return to smartphones. Earlier that year Nokia Technologies released the N1 tablet running Android. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement with Microsoft, Nokia could not sell Nokia-branded phones until 31 December 2015. Suri said in February 2016 that he wanted
3680-521: The Nokia mobile phone division, the New York Times reported that a team at Nokia were secretly testing Android on Microsoft Lumia devices, but that Microsoft was aware of this. Some analysts think Microsoft bought the business because Nokia were thinking of switching to Android, which could have resulted in Microsoft losing its dominant Windows Phone OEM. In December 2013 there were leaks of
3760-480: The Nokia website showed mobile devices for sale for the first time since 2014. Their first devices, Nokia 150 and 150 Dual SIM feature phones, was announced on 13 December 2016, while their first Android smartphone, Nokia 6 , was announced on 8 January 2017. At Mobile World Congress in February 2017, HMD announced the relaunch of the iconic Nokia 3310 , along with two new Android devices named Nokia 3 and Nokia 5. The first Nokia branded Android smartphone, Nokia 6
3840-628: The Symbian Foundation who then supported Google only. By now Nokia planned to replace Symbian with the Linux -based MeeGo after the N9 flagship. As MeeGo and Android are based upon Linux , some speculated that this would be a roadmap in Nokia's eventual adoption of Android. Under CEO Stephen Elop the company chose to halt the MeeGo project in favour of adopting Windows Phone, which resulted in
3920-654: The company to be in a position where it co-designs with another manufacturer, but keeps "appropriate control measures". HMD Global Oy was originally incorporated in Helsinki on 9 November 2015. On 18 May 2016, Microsoft Mobile announced the sale of its feature phone business to HMD Global and FIH Mobile. The sale included design rights, and its rights to use Nokia brand on all types of mobile phones and tablets worldwide until 2024, except in Japan, where Nokia-branded mobile phones have not been sold since 2008. HMD also signed
4000-582: The design patent of Nokia Lumia 2520 . On 25 October 2017, HMD revived the Nokia Beta Labs , a beta software program. On 11 January 2018, HMD Global acquired the Asha brand name. On 25 February 2018, A new high-end flagship was introduced, Nokia 8 Sirocco , featuring a curved all-glass design and its name referring to the older Nokia 8800 Sirocco , as well as Nokia 7 plus , and ultra-low-cost smartphone, Nokia 1 . In addition, HMD re-introduced
4080-615: The development of the Nokia N90 in 2005. The partnership between the two companies continued until Nokia's departure from the mobile industry in 2013. In the same year, the partnership was carried over to Microsoft when it acquired Nokia's mobile business. The last Microsoft smartphone with the Zeiss lens was the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL released in 2015. In 2016, Microsoft sold its feature phone business to HMD Global and FIH Mobile . This
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#17327976135914160-495: The end of extended support. This means that support ended on April 8, 2019. When software is no longer sold or supported, the product is said to have reached end-of-life, to be discontinued, retired, deprecated, abandoned, or obsolete, but user loyalty may continue its existence for some time, even long after its platform is obsolete—e.g., the Common Desktop Environment and Sinclair ZX Spectrum . After
4240-467: The end user to verify the integrity and authenticity of the software purchase. A copy of the RTM build known as the " gold master " or GM is sent for mass duplication or disc replication if applicable. The terminology is taken from the audio record-making industry, specifically the process of mastering . RTM precedes general availability (GA) when the product is released to the public. A golden master build (GM)
4320-422: The end-of-life date, the developer will usually not implement any new features, fix existing defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities (whether known before that date or not), or provide any support for the product. If the developer wishes, they may release the source code, so the platform will live again, and be maintained by volunteers, and if not, it may be reverse-engineered later when it becomes abandonware . Usage of
4400-464: The feature is complete. The alpha phase of the release life cycle is the first phase of software testing (alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet , used as the number 1). In this phase, developers generally test the software using white-box techniques . Additional validation is then performed using black-box or gray-box techniques, by another testing team. Moving to black-box testing inside
4480-406: The final version, or "gold", is released to the public. Pre-alpha refers to the early stages of development, when the software is still being designed and built. Alpha testing is the first phase of formal testing, during which the software is tested internally using white-box techniques . Beta testing is the next phase, in which the software is tested by a larger group of users, typically outside of
4560-611: The final version. Open betas serve the dual purpose of demonstrating a product to potential consumers, and testing among a wide user base is likely to bring to light obscure errors that a much smaller testing team might not find. A release candidate ( RC ), also known as gamma testing or "going silver", is a beta version with the potential to be a stable product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. In this stage of product stabilization, all product features have been designed, coded, and tested through one or more beta cycles with no known showstopper-class bugs. A release
4640-581: The first ever Nokia-branded 5G smartphone, and the "world's first truly global 5G device". Other products announced the same day were Nokia 5.3 , Nokia 1.3 , and revival of Nokia 5310 XpressMusic . HMD also introduced HMD Connect, which is a global roaming data SIM card, with associated plans. Nokia 6.2 and Nokia 7.2 get exclusive 007-branded Kevlar cases in conjunction to the HMD marketing campaign with James Bond movie No Time to Die . HMD are currently implementing new systems utilizing Artificial Intelligence . In July 2020, HMD acquired Valona Labs,
4720-536: The lessons learnt based on user feedback. Nokia phones beta labs was launched as Nokia Beta Labs on 16 April 2007 only as a page linking to other Nokia beta applications, namely Sports Tracker , Wellness Diary and WidSets . On 13 August, Nokia employee Tommi Vilkamo announced the website's renovation and his role as the new Beta Labs manager on his blog. After the rebranding Microsoft collecting feedback through UserVoice and has since launched several new applications such as Cinemagraph Beta and Gestures. Originally
4800-472: The lowest-end entry level smartphone, and the Nokia 9 series being the highest-end offering of the portfolio. For device successors, and new products launched under the same series, the decimal system (similar to the naming convention of software versions) is being used to denote the different smartphone versions (for e.g. Nokia 6 (2017), Nokia 6.1 (2018), Nokia 6.2 (2019), Nokia 6.3, and so on...). In addition to this, Verizon carrier locked phones are marked with
4880-482: The mid-upper range Xseries used for the touchscreen Symbian smartphones In late August 2018, HMD acquired PureView branding, the imaging technology brand which had previously been implemented on high-end Nokia/Lumia smartphones since the Nokia 808 PureView in 2012. In November 2019, HMD announced Nokia C1 , the Android Go smartphone. On 19 March 2020, HMD held an online event and announced Nokia 8.3 5G ,
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#17327976135914960-653: The name "Nokia Mobile" is used on social media. In January 2024, HMD rebranded to 'Human Mobile Devices' and will use its branding on future devices alongside that of Nokia. HMD has a partnership with Google , and uses the Android operating system under the Android One program on their smartphones, whereas HMD's feature phones use the Series 30+ platform, or most recently, the Firefox OS -derived KaiOS . HMD
5040-627: The number of markets it was available in. In May 2015 Microsoft released the Lumia Camera Beta app reminiscent to the Nokia Camera Beta app to test improvements, among the new features is the ability to select Office Lens from settings. Though these features are exclusive for newer PureView powered handsets, these devices include the Nokia Lumia 930 , Nokia Lumia Icon , Nokia Lumia 1520 , Microsoft Lumia 640 , and Microsoft Lumia 640 XL . On 22 July 2015 Microsoft launched
5120-542: The organization is known as alpha release . Alpha software is not thoroughly tested by the developer before it is released to customers. Alpha software may contain serious errors, and any resulting instability could cause crashes or data loss. Alpha software may not contain all of the features that are planned for the final version. In general, external availability of alpha software is uncommon for proprietary software , while open source software often has publicly available alpha versions. The alpha phase usually ends with
5200-422: The organization that developed it. The beta phase is focused on reducing impacts on users and may include usability testing. After beta testing, the software may go through one or more release candidate phases, in which it is refined and tested further, before the final version is released. Some software, particularly in the internet and technology industries, is released in a perpetual beta state, meaning that it
5280-490: The product they test, discounts on the release version, or other incentives. Some software is kept in so-called perpetual beta , where new features are continually added to the software without establishing a final "stable" release. As the Internet has facilitated the rapid and inexpensive distribution of software, companies have begun to take a looser approach to the use of the word beta . Developers may release either
5360-552: The product. As software became a significant part of IBM's offerings, the alpha test terminology was used to denote the pre-announcement test and the beta test was used to show product readiness for general availability. Martin Belsky, a manager on some of IBM's earlier software projects claimed to have invented the terminology. IBM dropped the alpha/beta terminology during the 1960s, but by then it had received fairly wide notice. The usage of "beta test" to refer to testing done by customers
5440-519: The production level. It noted that Gmail and Google News , for example, had been in beta for a long time although widely used; Google News left beta in January 2006, followed by Google Apps (now named Google Workspace ), including Gmail, in July 2009. Since the introduction of Windows 8 , Microsoft has called pre-release software a preview rather than beta . All pre-release builds released through
5520-474: The related hardware end user computers or machines. The term does not define the delivery mechanism or volume; it only states that the quality is sufficient for mass distribution. The deliverable from the engineering organization is frequently in the form of a golden master media used for duplication or to produce the image for the web. General availability ( GA ) is the marketing stage at which all necessary commercialization activities have been completed and
5600-437: The return of the Nokia brand to smartphones in June 2015 through a licensing strategy, and the formation of HMD Global was finally announced in May 2016. Nokia 6 was announced in January 2017, almost six years after declining to use Google/Android and partnering with Microsoft. Series 30+ (abbreviated as S30+ ) is a software platform and application user interface used for Nokia -branded mobile devices . The platform
5680-527: The site was operated by Nokia but Microsoft moved the development to a more feedback-orientated design in August 2014 to allow more users to add their feedback rather than just Nokia-developers. On 14 August 2014 it was announced the relocation of the Nokia Beta Labs website to a new site that host all new beta trials for Lumia apps. Microsoft has discontinued the Nokia Camera Beta trial and re-released
5760-459: The software development phase following alpha. A beta phase generally begins when the software is feature-complete but likely to contain several known or unknown bugs. Software in the beta phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software and speed or performance issues, and may still cause crashes or data loss. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts on users, often incorporating usability testing . The process of delivering
5840-662: The software has "gone live". Release to the Web ( RTW ) or Web release is a means of software delivery that utilizes the Internet for distribution. No physical media are produced in this type of release mechanism by the manufacturer. Web releases have become more common as Internet usage grew. During its supported lifetime, the software is sometimes subjected to service releases, patches or service packs , sometimes also called "interim releases" or "maintenance releases" (MR). For example, Microsoft released three major service packs for
5920-418: The used system, language, or underlying libraries. Once released, the software is generally known as a "stable release". The formal term often depends on the method of release: physical media, online release, or a web application. The term "release to manufacturing" (RTM), also known as "going gold", is a term used when a software product is ready to be delivered. This build may be digitally signed, allowing
6000-462: Was discontinued in 2015. The service was revived by HMD Global in 2017 for Nokia Android smartphones, allowing members to test Android 8.0 Oreo beta. The applications provided by Beta Apps are in development, but are considered "mature" enough to be released in order to be tested by users worldwide. Anyone can submit feedback about applications, which goes to the development team. After a period of time, an application either "graduated", meaning it
6080-786: Was introduced by Nokia in September 2013, first appearing on the Nokia 108, and has been the main Nokia feature phone operating system after the end of the Series 30 and Series 40 platforms in 2014. Despite the similar name and user interface, S30+ is technically completely different and unrelated to S30. Many S30+ devices only support MAUI Runtime Environment , and application file (.vxp) developed by MediaTek , but some later devices have included support for J2ME applications. Even for models that don't support Java J2ME applications, some are still capable of running something. Some S30+ models also come with an online shop that would allow downloading new apps and games. Newer phone models with "Series 30+" platform are said to be based on RTOS , which use
6160-579: Was not done in IBM. Rather, IBM used the term "field test". Major public betas developed afterward, with early customers having purchased a "pioneer edition" of the WordVision word processor for the IBM PC for $ 49.95. In 1984, Stephen Manes wrote that "in a brilliant marketing coup, Bruce and James Program Publishers managed to get people to pay for the privilege of testing the product." In September 2000,
6240-530: Was released in China and a few other Asian markets starting January, while Western releases commenced in June starting with Finland, with a full worldwide release of all three Android devices by August 2017. On 6 July 2017 HMD partnered with Carl Zeiss AG to provide camera lens optics for Nokia smartphones. Nokia previously used Zeiss optics in its mobile phone lineup from 2005 to 2014. On 27 July 2017, HMD purchased 500 design patents from Microsoft Mobile that were originally created by Nokia. One notable patent
6320-461: Was then followed by the licensing of the Nokia brand for smartphones from Nokia Corporation. In July 2017, HMD Global and Zeiss rekindled its "exclusive" partnership. The first Nokia Android smartphone with Zeiss lens was the flagship Nokia 8 . On 25 July 2022, Zeiss confirmed through the European website, Nokiamob, that the partnership between the two companies ended in 2021. It is clear that
6400-401: Was unable to maintain the popularity it once had back in the 2000s. Its initial partnership with Microsoft to use its operating system did not help either as Windows Phone 's mobile app offerings were not as comprehensive as the ones available on Apple's iOS and Google's Android . At this point of time, Nokia had a lineup of feature phones, and a range of low- to high-end smartphones under
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