Nokia beta Labs – what happens next?

ESPOO, Finland – With new mobile devices becoming ever more capable (think N95 with personal navigation, 5-megapixel camera and a multitude of other audio and video talents) they need to be fed with ever more complex applications.

Nokia Beta Labs exists to test and develop the next generation of mobile apps but not everything makes the cut.

In a recent interview with Engadget, head of Nokia Beta Labs Tommy
Vilkamo reckons about 50 per cent of the applications that enter the
program graduate to become full blown applications once the beta
process is complete.

“The best-case scenario is “graduation,” meaning that an app has gone
through a full beta phase — possibly comprised of multiple update and
feedback cycles — and go on to become production offerings. Otherwise,
they’re “archived,” in which case they’ll either be embalmed and
offered as-is for posterity’s sake or disappear quietly into the ether,
never to be heard from again.”

Recent graduates from the Beta Labs program include Nseries PC Suite,
Share Online 3.0 and WidSets. Other applications currently in Beta
include Nokia Text Messenger, which is a gadget for Windows Vista which
fetches the latest text messages from your Nokia so you can view and
respond to them from your desktop.

Check out the latest from Beta Labs