February 22, 2011
By Donovan Jackson

As we have discussed in previous blog posts, where mobile phones are concerned, it’s all about the apps. More than that, at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress, it was made clear that it is also all about the ecosystem which allows devices, operating system and apps to come together and create the user experiences which make smartphones, well, smart. And Nokia has made a major play in this regard with its partnership with Microsoft.

This is a game changer which has been coming for some time. And it’s significant, because Nokia has always been known for its devices foremost, while Microsoft is famous for its software on end-user devices. Together, the massive communities of developers (and users!) of the products of both companies form an enormous ecosystem bound to ‘deliver the goods’. Or, simply put, you and I and our Nokia phones are likely to enjoy something of an app-fest.

The giant Nokia/Microsoft ecosystem

To get an idea of the ecosystem which results from this coming together of information and communication technology behemoths, read this piece from Nokia Conversations’ Phil.  The takeouts revolve around the integration you can expect across product lines: Bing, Xbox (yessss!) Microsoft Office, Nokia smartphones, and much, much more. Business software users, too, are likely to see an enormous advantage, since Microsoft makes plenty of high-end, enterprise software. Already that sort of software is accessible through mobile devices; with Nokia as a partner, the possibility horizon just got pushed out further.

Que Pasa Symbian?

With this tie-up, however, come some questions (inevitably). Nokia may be most famous for its handsets, but whither the software that powers them? If you know and love Symbian, you know what I am referring to; does Microsoft mean no more of this operating system?

Far from it; Symbian is so popular that it will enjoy continued support and development along with the Nokia/Microsoft joint development of Windows Phone as the ‘focal point’ (as Rich Green, Nokia CTO, explains here.) With another 150 million Symbian devices expected to sell next year….yes, that’s a lot of Symbian devices, three times the population of South Africa…you can imagine that this is not something which Nokia would want to suspend any time soon.

Indeed, Symbian plays a vital role in the Nokia lineup, which is geared to provide a handset for every sector of the market. Word is that it will focus on Series 40 and Series 30

to service price points below 100 Euro (around R1000) and Nokia will continue to invest in new assets which will bring a modern mobile experience to the ‘traditional’ S40 consumer. Series 40 has a long and happy life ahead of it and Nokia has indicated that it remains critical with plenty of growth anticipated in the future. That also means Nokia is committed to Series 40 Java and to developers, with enhanced Java support, new SDKs and increased opportunities to leverage the world’s largest volume mobile platform.

Meanwhile, Series 30 plays an essential role in the portfolio, and connects millions of people the world over with essential, affordable voice and text based communication. More is more, in short and Nokia is looking for better differentiation with this strategy.

Anyway, this year’s Mobile World Congress was arguably all about the power of the app (and the ecosystem which allows the app to be created, brought to market and run on your smartphone). Check out this succinct summary of what went down (and its significance) courtesy of Memeburn.