As shown in the screenshot above, although this is a newer, slightly leaner version of Microsoft Apps, reworked for the N8, you'll still need at least 45MB of temporary free space on disk C: before you start. And you can expect to have around 20MB less free space on C: once the install has finished. This may be a problem for some.
Interestingly, v2.1 isn't yet offered for the original brace of devices, e.g. the E7, C7 and X7 - perhaps v2.1's main improvement is just the reworking for a leaner install? Or perhaps 2.1 will appear later on for the other devices? And no, there's still no sign of a VGA-screen reworking of the suite for the Nokia E6.
Microsoft Apps for Nokia Symbian Belle is detailed here, in our original news story:
Improvements are included to Nokia Email and Microsoft Exchange email support and particular. HTML mail handling is quicker, you can now reliably side swipe between email accounts, plus some email UI elements that got missed in the Belle update are now added back, notably the reply and delete icons on the toolbar.
- As mentioned above, Microsoft OneNote, which is part of the desktop Microsoft Office suite, allows you to create rich text notes. These notes can by synchronised via your SkyDrive account too (obviously requires a Windows Live account sign in) – since Microsoft have provided OneNote for Windows Phone 7, Android, iOS, and now Symbian, this means that your notes can be shared and synchronised with practically any desktop or mobile device - a practical alternative to services like Evernote, especially since Symbian has lacked the latter.
- Microsoft Office Mobile Document Connection is a viewer and editor for SharePoint Office files and email attachments, or (with some compatibility issues) Office files in local storage. This will be of use to those using a SharePoint server and associated Exchange ActiveSync mail account. This covers a gap in the services area of Office document provision on Symbian. So far, Symbian has multiple office suites which can edit Microsoft files stored on Dropbox or Google Docs, but not on Microsoft ShareView or Office Live (SkyDrive).
- Microsoft Lync is a corporate instant messaging (IM) ability. This has the advantage of companies having the benefit of IM without having to use external internet services. A Lync server is set up within a company’s network and allows for securecommunication between individuals or groups.
- Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast allows you to stream presentations to a PC via your smartphone. You can also combine these with Lync audio messages, according to Nokia Conversations.