Shining the silver light

SEATTLE, USA – Microsoft and Nokia are expecting to bring the new
Silverlight platform to an estimated 150 million Nokia devices in the
next few months.

This means a world of new applications becoming available on S60 devices almost overnight.

When the collaboration was originally announced a couple of months ago, many were surprised that Nokia and Microsoft would be working together on this project.

Ultimately though, it’s about the user, and ensuring they have plenty of choice when it comes to enhancing their device. In a story on WirelessWeek.com, George Lawton looks at the Silverlight roll out and how it will impact users, as well as what it means for Microsoft and Nokia.

“This gives further credibility to Microsoft and raises the game in terms of being cross-platform,” says Bola Rotibi, an Ovum analyst. “For Nokia, it demonstrates that it is interested in opening up rich applications for mobile devices.”

Although Silverlight offers developers a similar set up to Adobe’s Flash Lite, the two are seen by Nokia as complementary, rather than competitive. Both offer a wider range of applications to the user. According to George, “Adobe’s Flash Lite is currently available on over 500 million devices and has an estimated 2 million developers using its tools.”
Sebastian Nystrom, director of Technology Strategy, at Nokia says

“There are a number of technologies that Website developers want to use. We believe that Silverlight will have appeal to these developers and will grow in importance, and we want to support all of the technologies.”

The first generation of applications that we’ll see soon will be media centric, with audio and video at their heart. Later on though, when we see the next generation of Silverlight released, the range and scope of applications will dramatically increase.

It’s set to be an exciting year for new applications on your device. What would you like to see? Let us know.
Picture from Microsoft Silverlight