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What are S60 games? What is S60 on Symbian?

S60 on Symbian is the technical name for the software platform used by N-Gage compatible smartphones. All Next Gen N-Gage compatible phones run on a version of this platform called S60 3rd Edition which itself runs on the Symbian OS. This means that as well as N-Gage games these phones can also run S60 3rd Edition games and applications. S60 applications can access the full power of your S60-compatible phone, they can do more and run a lot faster than Java.

If you want to use your N-Gage compatible phone for more than just games, if you want to turn it into a pocket-sized PC, dive into the world of Symbian S60 3rd Edition over on our sister site



What are Symbian S60 3rd Edition games and apps? Why would I want to install them on my phone?

If you have an N-Gage-compatible phone, it can do far more than just run N-Gage games. It can also run a kind of software called Symbian S60 3rd Edition, which includes games and serious applications.S60 games and apps are very special because they are "native" applications, which means they can access the phone's hardware very directly. Because of this direct access, S60 software can do more with the phone and run much more smoothly than Java games or apps.In fact, if you want to know a secret, N-Gage games themselves are technically S60 3rd Edition games. That means that, in theory, S60 games can look and sound just good as N-Gage games.

However, in real life S60 games tend to have much smaller development budgets than N-Gage games so they usually don't look quite as good (there are exceptions though, for example the S60 games Lament Island and K-Rally are just as high quality as N-Gage titles).S60 3rd Edition software is sometimes called S60v3 or Series 60 3rd Edition. S60 files usually end in ".SIS" or ".SISX".

So how do I install S60 games or apps on my N-Gage-compatible phone?

There are actually two main ways: either directly onto your phone, or via your PC.The direct method is very simple, just open the phone's web browser and go to a site that contains S60 software for download and click on the relevant link. The installation process will start automatically, just follow the on-screen instructions and select the memory card when it asks where you want to put the game or app.

Another direct method is the "Download!" icon on the main menu, just click on it, select whatever you want and follow the on-csreen instructions. Note that not all of the software in "Download!" is S60, some of it is Java, which will generally look worse and run more slowly than S60 apps and games.However, not all S60 software is available as a direct download.

It's far more common for S60 software to be sold and/or distributed through websites intended for viewing on a PC. A lot of people buy S60 games (or download S60 freeware) onto their computers and then install it on their phones. The easiest way to do this is to install Nokia's free PC Suite software on your computer, and then use that to start the installation process.

This is the method described in the video above.You can get Nokia PC Suite totally free from the following website:http://www.nokia.com/pcsuite/As well as letting you install S60 software, the PC Suite also lets you back up the contents of the phone, update the phone's firmware, and all kinds of other interesting stuff.

How to install S60 games and apps using Nokia PC Suite1.

Launch PC Suite on your computer.
2. Click on the Install Applications logo (the three squares and a plus sign).
3. When the Application Installer appears, use the section on the left to choose the directory on your computer where you have the S60 games or apps you want to install.
4. On the right side of the App Installer, click on "Phone Memory" and select the "Memory Card" or "Mass Storage" option. Note that if you've given your phone's memory card an odd name, it will appear instead of "Memory Card".
5. Click on the S60 game or app you want to install on the left, and then click on the arrow button in the middle. A box will appear telling you to continue installation on the phone. Do NOT close this box, just leave it where it is for the moment.
6. On the phone's screen, follow the instructions and select "Memory Card" or "Mass Storage" or whatever the memory card is called. Be patient, the game or app may take a long time to install, especially if it's particularly large (many megabytes for example).
7. When the game or app has been successfully installed, you'll see a message telling you so. You can now go and use it. You'll probably find it in the Applications folder of the main menu, but some games or apps may install themselves elsewhere, perhaps creating their own menu folder for example.And that's it, that's how you install S60 games or apps from your computer onto your phone. You can now close PC Suite if you want.If you want to remove a game or app, just go to its icon in the phone's menu system, click on Options and then click on Remove.


Where do I get S60 3rd Edition games?

Our sister site the Unofficial Nokia Gaming Blog has its own S60 3rd Edition shop you can buy games at. Click here to visit it.If you're just looking for a free game to get you started, click here and download the excellent Snakes from Nokia, which works on all N-Gage-compatible phones. It's the same game which was released on the original gen N-Gage, but it's been updated so it works on modern N-Gage phones with higher resolutions.