Symbian to get Microsoft Apps

Could the unthinkable have happened? Nokia and Microsoft released a joint announcement that both of them will be rolling out a Symbian software updates which are otherwise known as Microsoft Apps. These updates will definitely carve a smile on the face of those who are in the business world, delivering business productivity tools that ought to make the Symbian handset worth more in terms of revenue brought in to the company – assuming you make good use of it, of course. Needless to say, this would add more incentive to purchase a new Symbian Belle handset, and it is also more alluring to make the upgrade from Symbian Anna to Symbian Belle.

Among the free apps that are available include Microsoft Lync 2010 Mobile that delivers cost efficient instant messaging, presence, audio and web meetings on-the-go, while Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast paves the way for quick broadcasting of presentations straight from the PC to mobile. As for Microsoft OneNote, you can capture more with your notes by including images in them – after all, isn’t a picture worth a thousand words? Microsoft Document Connection will let you view your Office documents stored on mobile, including email attachments as well as documents on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 sites.

The list of goodies isn’t over yet though – there will be another update coming your way sometime early next year, throwing in Microsoft OneNote sync with SharePoin, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint as native applications – marking a first as this had never happened outside the Windows platform before.

Could this move be a renaissance for Nokia?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Microsoft, Nokia, symbian