With 150 million devices and new agreements with other big names in the sector, the Nokia S60 operating system remains the market leader
Symbian S60
Mobile World Congress 2008, Barcelona, Spain / Espoo, Finland - The S60 software, developed by Nokia, is licensed to some of the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers, including LG Electronics, Nokia and Samsung. Today, at the Mobile World Congress, these licensees announced six new third edition S60-based devices, which will complement their range of devices and enhance the next wave of internet experiences and usability enhancements.
“Consumers are increasingly demanding intuitive internet experiences. S60 software on Symbian OS is ideally placed to offer attractive devices to a wide variety of market segments. We are delighted that these market-leading manufacturers are launching new S60 devices, ”commented Matti Vänskä, Vice President, Mobile Software Sales & Marketing at Nokia. "The S60 strategy is to give consumers simplicity and choice by offering the best consumer experience that allows for mobile devices that add real value to their lives."
S60 strategy is to give consumers choice and simplicity, delivering the best consumer experiences that allow their mobile devices to add real value to their lives
LG has announced the LG-KT610, the brand new device with HSDPA connectivity and GPS navigation capabilities. The Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic and Nokia 6210 Navigator devices all feature a variety of location based services and multimedia experiences ranging from pedestrian navigation to georeferencing and from viewing movies to sharing photos and movies. The Samsung G810, with 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, allows users to enjoy multimedia features at faster data transfer rates.
Today's announcement brings the number of S73 devices launched so far to 60. As of the end of January 2008, S60 licensees had globally distributed over 150 million S60 devices, more than a third of which were equipped with the S60 third edition.
"Nokia is a world leader in the smartphone and multimedia computer segment, and the S60 gives us growing opportunities to further improve our fragmented product offering and internet service innovation," said Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Category Management, Devices, Nokia. "The new products we have presented will increase the consumption of internet services and will allow users to take advantage of the wide range of services made available by mobile telephone operators from other players in the internet sector."
The S60 is currently the most installed platform on smartphones and allows users to connect to the internet using all the related services. The S60 holds the widest range of products, thus ensuring coverage suited to meet the needs of different market segments. The S60 is the undisputed leader in the field of operating systems for convergence on mobile devices, with a worldwide market share that exceeded 53% in the fourth quarter of 2007 (source: Canalys report, January 2008).
The S60 is also intensifying collaborations with major network operators in order to be able to support an ever-increasing number of services. Nokia today announced the start of a software collaboration with Telefónica Spain, with the aim of including third-party applications on S60 devices in its offering.
“Telefónica intends to multiply the applications available by simplifying their use for the user. We also aim for differentiation that further affirms our brand, and the S60 is the best way to achieve that. I would add that together with all those who have contributed to the success of the S60 we can continue to give impetus to innovation and new service models ”, says Luis Ezcurra, Devices and Multimedia Director, Telefónica Spain.
Nokia previously announced a partnership with Orange to facilitate the customization, as well as strengthen the role, of S60 devices in the Orange product range; collaboration that is going well.
According to Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President, Devices, Orange: “The S60 is the ideal platform for Orange services and to provide new stimuli to the market”. "Our close collaboration with the S60 guarantees us a competitive advantage as it increases the volumes and the peculiar characteristics of our smartphones already characterized by numerous applications".
S60 is the first software platform to feature built-in widget support. Widgets enrich internet experiences on the go by generating a personal web experience on an equally personal device. Devices launched today include widget support enabled by the S60 Run-Time Web Application Development Environment.
