In an interview with the Nokia Conversations blog, China Edition, Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, said that "software updates to Symbian devices are expected until at least 2016", and that there is " a long history still to be paved for Symbian in the future". While Nokia has previously made it clear that Symbian investment would continue, the 2016 date is a definitive statement and may be further in the future than some have anticipated.
Yesterday Microsoft offered the media a preview of Mango, the next release of the Windows Phone platform. The release will deliver more than 500 new features, with an emphasis on communication, apps and the Internet. Mango will also see wider language support, the addition of 1500 APIs for developers and significant performance improvements. Mango is scheduled to arrive in the autumn and will be the version that Nokia uses on its first Windows Phone devices, scheduled to appear in 2012 in quantity.
Microsoft today announced plans to acquire Skype, the Internet communications company, for US $8.5 billion. The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and, pending regulatory approval, is expected to be completed later this year. The acquisition sets the scene for closer integration between Skype and Microsoft products, including Windows Phone. Given Microsoft and Nokia's recent tie up, it seems likely that future Nokia products may ship with Skype integration out of the box.
Nokia and Accenture today announced plans for a strategic collaboration, which will see Nokia transfer its Symbian software activities to Accenture. As a result, around 3,000 Nokia employees will transition to Accenture. Accenture will then provide Symbian-related development and support services to Nokia. In the future, Accenture will also provide future smartphone ecosystem services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia.
Nokia today announced that it plans to cut its workforce by 4,000 employees by the end of 2012, as part of the restructuring resulting from its recent strategy changes. The majority of the cuts will take place in Finland, Denmark and the UK. They are part of the previously announced measures to cut Nokia's operational expenditure by €1 billion. In addition, a further 3,000 employees will move to Accenture as part of the transfer of Nokia's Symbian software activities, which was also announced today.
Today, at the Where 2.0 conference, Nokia announced the introduction of a 3D view for the web version of Ovi Maps. The 3D view, which is available for 20 metropolitan areas, uses photo-realistic 3D models to add an additional dimension to the traditional digital map view of the world. In addition, five cities also have a street level view, made up of connected 360 degree panoramic images. The new views are implemented as part of Ovi Maps 3D beta, which requires a browser plug-in to be installed.
Making a brief appearance on stage as part of the Windows Phone 7 presentation, Marco Argenti, Nokia's head of developer experiences, stressed the partnership of Nokia and Microsoft, but provided no new updates on the progress of the partnership. That’s to be expected, the day was Joe Belfiore’s, and he used it to showcase the new elements of the “Mango” update, likely to form the backbone of Nokia’s Windows Phone devices going forward in 2012.
For almost all aspects of smartphone-desktop connectivity, Mac owners haven't been too disadvantaged. In fact, some aspects (e.g. PIM sync) are arguably a lot better under Mac OS X. However, a notable hole in overall functionality has been being able to check for firmware updates and install them over a microUSB cable. Yes, 'Over the air' updates are usually sufficient, but it's good to have a second source of vital software improvements. Nokia Beta Labs just released a Mac version of their Software Update tool and I've been trying it out. Screens and links below.
Google Chrome users might like to direct their attention to the Chrome Web App Store. An unofficial app for Nokia's Ovi Store has recently appeared, giving users a direct shortcut to the Ovi Store on their 'new tab' page. Google's move to bring apps to the browser has seen varying amounts of innovation. Some "apps" are nothing more than glorified bookmarks to websites. The Ovi Store Web App falls under this category, so don't expect any extra functionality. Read on for screenshots.
Digia, a Finnish software company, has signed an agreement with Nokia to acquire the commercial licensing and professional services arm of Nokia's Qt. The major portion of Qt, including all core development and LGPL licensing remains with Nokia. Nokia plans to continue to invest in the future development of Qt, which remains core to its Symbian (150 million additional devices) and MeeGo (future disruptions) activities. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the month; neither company are disclosing cost details.
The Qt SDK beta 1.1 was launched today. While the SDK is a beta release, the Qt (4.7.2) and Qt Creator (2.1) releases within it are final (i.e. not beta or previews). This means that Qt Quick can now be considered to have been officially released. Qt Quick is a crucial step forward for Qt, bringing easy UI creation, which allows developers and designers to work together more easily to create applications with great user experience.
Sound-clip publishing service, Audioboo, is now available in the Ovi Store. The "Twitter for audio" allows you to record short messages on your phone, tag them with text and pictures. Once uploaded to the Internet, Audioboos can be shared, listened to, and commented on. Already a popular service on Android and iPhone, Audioboo is a welcome addition to the Symbian platform.
There's an interesting editorial over at The Telegraph, quoted below, in which the author questions, as I have done several times, the prevailing wisdom over whether the current craze for 'apps' (for accessing information and services) is a good thing. The editorial starts and ends in the pub, which is a good start to some decent left-field thinking. Why use 'apps' when we have the Web itself? Surely what we need is a better and more intelligent Web?
Please excuse the original story on this address, I was going by item numbers in Ovi Store URLs - it turns out that there isn't a strict one to-one correspondance between URL numbers and actual content items. The store simply now has over 100,000 allocated item IDs, many of which never materialised into content. Watch this space for some fuller Ovi Store statistics.
At a Strategy and Financial Briefing, which takes place at 10 am GMT on February 11th Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, is expected to outline his vision for the future strategy of the company. Rafe will be reporting live from Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, London, where the event is taking place. You can follow our live coverage using this story or via our Twitter accounts (@aas and @allaboutmeego).
