Microsoft and Nokia have today announced another joint venture as a result of their strategic partnership, with Microsoft agreeing to bring their apps to Nokia Symbian smartphones.
Microsoft’s legendary productivity software will come to new Nokia smartphones running the ‘Belle’ version of their Symbian operating software in the form of ‘Microsoft Apps’.
A range of Nokia’s existing smartphones including the N8, C7 and E7 are updatable to Symbian Belle now, so if you’ve updated recently you’ll be able to download the following Microsoft Apps completely free of charge:
- Microsoft Lync 2010 Mobile – for cost efficient IM, presence, audio and web meetings on-the-go
- Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast – quick broadcast of presentations directly from PC to mobile
- Microsoft OneNote – rich note taking with images
- Syncs with Microsoft SkyDrive. Microsoft Document Connection – single view to documents stored on mobile, including email attachments as well as documents on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 sites.
Microsoft and Nokia will be launching the free productivity apps nearer the end of this year, with software updates to Microsoft OneNote and native Word, Excel and Powerpoint apps coming to Symbian early 2012.
It’s nice to see Microsoft and Nokia still working on Symbian and providing new software and features for its customers, rather than dumping it altogether and going straight for Windows Phone 7 devices.