Nokia fights back with new OS
EMBATTLED handset manufacturer Nokia began its fightback yesterday, launching two new handsets and an update of its soon-to-be-ditched operating system.
The new version of Symbian, codenamed Anna, appears to borrow heavily from popular rival Android, which is the industry’s fastest growing mobile platform.
However, analysts are already questioning whether new handsets running Anna will quickly become “orphans”, with Nokia planning to shelve Symbian later this year after striking a landmark deal to run Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.
It also unveiled the four-inch touchscreen X7 handset, aimed at entertainment consumers, and the qwerty keyboard E6, aimed at business users.
Constructed from metal and glass, both handsets are aimed squarely at the high-end of the smartphone market – an area that Nokia has struggled to break into. Nokia also announced its Ovi Store now has 40,000 apps for download, an eight-fold increase year-on-year, and facilitates up to 5m downloads a day.
The announcements come just days after HTC overtook Nokia in terms of market cap to become the world’s third largest phone manufacturer.
The Taiwanese firm was boosted by the growing public appetite for handsets running Android
HTC, which also unveiled its new Sensation handset yesterday, posted $3.6bn (£2.2bn) in revenues in its first-quarter, with net income nearly tripling from last year to $513m.