Nokia announces long-term software, developer strategies

MANILA, Philippines - In a bid to clarify all the talk pertaining to their Helsinki-based head office’s announcement that their smartphones will be using the Windows platform, Nokia Philippines held a press conference last week and released several key messages.

Topping the list is their affirmation that Windows Phone will, indeed, be the Finnish handset giant’s primary smartphone strategy.

Numerous questions were raised during the Q&A regarding sales figures and timetables for the debut of the Windows-equipped Nokia handsets but the repeated answer was that no figures or dates were yet available.

An equally high number of questions were fielded regarding the effect of the adoption of the Windows Mobile platform to Nokia’s current Symbian OS.

Nokia executives answered by stating that the company will ship new Symbian devices and continue to evolve and innovate on the platform, including enhancements to Qt applications on the Symbian platform.

They pointed out plans to roll out as many as 150 million more units running on the Symbian platform although they did not specify the timetable of such an undertaking aside from the fact that this rollout is currently ongoing.

As for the company’s in-house-developed operating system, MeeGo, Nokia executives stated that the handset maker intends to maintain and utilize it as a “disruptive” technology. They also stated that Nokia will ship a device from the MeeGo program, which will run Qt apps, this year.

Executives also announced that Nokia will keep working on Qt as there are many other programs (ongoing Symbian and MeeGo devices as well as other activities and industries) supported by it.

The Finnish telecom giant will likewise continue to encourage developers for the mobile phone segment. They noted that developers can already distribute Java apps to approximately 600 million Series 40-powered Nokia devices and that the company intends to drive more innovation, with more news on this matter set to be released.

Nokia did point out that Qt will not run on Windows Phone as Microsoft already offers free Windows Phone developer tools.

On the Ovi Store front, Nokia will support apps and content for Symbian, MeeGo, Series 40 and Nokia Windows Phones, and has committed to provide unparalleled global distribution for developers and publishers, with the Finnish company driving merchandising and monetization opportunities.

Nokia’s monetization enablers (in-app monetization, billing and analytics) will support all their device operating systems and will have a single site to manage publishing and performance of apps and content across all platforms.

Existing relationships with Nokia and Ovi Store, including publisher rating and other historical ranking data, will be reflected across the Ovi Store on Windows Phones, with Nokia hastening to add that developers and publishers will not have to start again from scratch.