Nokia announced today that Microsoft Silverlight will be made available to the Symbian OS (Series 60 and 40) and to the Nokia Internet Tablet.
According to Lee Williams, Nokia SVP for Devices Software:
Nokia’s software strategy is based on cross-platform development environments, enabling the creation of rich applications across the Nokia device range. Nokia aims to support market leading and content rich internet application environments and to embrace and encourage open innovation. By working with Microsoft, we are creating terrific opportunities and additional choices for the development community, S60 licensees and the industry as a whole.
What is Silverlight?
Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering next-generation media experiences and rich interactive applications. Silverlight is already powering thousands of applications around the world and organizations including Entertainment Tonight, the NBA and NBC Universal to deliver superior Web-based experiences to their customers. The arrangement with Nokia will substantially extend the reach of Silverlight by making the platform available for hundreds of millions of devices, including S60 on Symbian smartphones from a range of manufacturers, as well as Nokia Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets.
How do you all think will the internet tablet benefit from Silverlight?
When Nokia introduced its first Internet tablet, all geekdom rejoiced at the prospect of an open source palmtop — complete with VGA camera — dedicated to hopping on a wireless connection and surfing the Web. Users flocked to the forums, wrote programs for the device, even went so far as to optimize aspects of its operating system. But Linux n00bs were largely unable to take full advantage of the gizmo’s capabilities. More than two years and a couple of product generations later, it’s not just the hacker crowd that’s psyched about the Nokia N810. This is a far more polished and consumer-friendly version, thanks to all those nerds and their suggestions. The reengineered tablet kept its predecessors’ 4.1-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen but picked up a full slide-out keyboard. And no, that didn’t make the thing any bigger. In fact, it’s 8 percent smaller. The new kid also got a bump in processor speed and added a preloaded Skype client. For the truly restless, a built-in GPS receiver and maps nix the need to pack a nav system in the old gear bag. The N810 is a rad gadget, to be sure — and the geeks will probably find a way to make it even better.
