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Nokia to drive Symbian uptake via app challenge
The Calling All Innovators contest is aimed at driving Nokia handset sales by popularising the OS, especially in new markets, according to a key Forum Nokia executive. One of the three competition categories aims to encourage development of applications for emerging countries.
Tom Libretto, Forum Nokia vice president:
"This competition aims to get developers to think about the needs of these markets... There is a whole different set of needs that the developer ecosystem can help to address," Libretto said, naming examples such as real-time market updates and weather information delivered over inexpensive means such as SMS.
For a farmer in India needing to make a long trip each day to different markets, it would be helpful to know in advance the prices of wares at the different locations, so they can make an informed decision, Libretto said.
Such applications are aimed at making Symbian devices popular in these new markets, which Nokia hopes will drive sales of their devices, too.
According to Libretto, an increasing proportion of Nokia devices are being sold in emerging markets, which is helping to drive demand for these applications.
More info on ZDnet and Forum Nokia