James Delahunty
13 Aug 2009 11:31
Nokia and Microsoft Corp. announced an agreement yesterday that will bring Microsoft Office software to Nokia smartphones. The software will coming with Nokia handsets from next year, and will include Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile, which will be followed by other applications.
"This agreement represents an important milestone for both companies and the industry," Stephen Elop, the president of Microsoft Business Division, said. "It's the first time Microsoft will develop rich Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform. With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us."
Nokia smartphone users will be able to use popular Microsoft programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote to edit and share Office documents, but both companies stressed they will be still rivals when it comes to mobile operating system software. "Nokia and Microsoft do compete in some areas and we will continue to do so," said Elop. "At Microsoft we remain deeply committed to Windows Mobile."
Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices, said that the company is still totally dedicated to Symbian, but said Microsoft's applications will be of tremendous value to the operating system. When asked by reporters if the companies had come to this agreement to compete with Apple, they remarked that it is more of a response to the Blackberry. "It is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anybody else," the Nokia executive said.