Nokia S40 Support Is Key For Asha Feature Phone Success

Nokia may have lost its smartphone crown to the likes of Apple and Samsung in recent years, but its range of affordable Nokia S40 feature phones continues to remain popular.

In the smartphone sphere, Nokia has thrown its lot in with Microsoft Windows Phone, but it continues to develop the feature phone incarnation of its old phone OS, known as S40. Last October it launched a new range of Asha S40 phones which it claims blur the line between the traditional concepts of smartphones and feature phones.

It has recently added two more phones to the line, the S40-based Nokia Asha 308 and 309, but what are Nokia’s plans for the aging operating system? We spoke to Nokia’s Ana Mangahas to find out.

Nokia S40 Support

Nokia is positioning its latest Asha phones as ‘real smartphones’. How would you define a smartphone and does your definition mean Nokia is the largest smartphone manufacturer?
Nokia Asha Touch devices, including the new Asha 308 and 309, were recognised as smartphones by global researchers and analysts, such as GfK and IDC. Gfk classified the Asha Touch family as smartphones based on the flexibility for third party developers to create applications for this operating system, combined with typical smartphone experiences, such as a fast and responsive touch screen, the availability of thousands of apps, and a fast and smart browser to discover the best of the internet.

Nokia OS S40 has been around for more than ten years. Can it continue to evolve with other operating systems such as iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8?
We continue to invest in the Series 40 platform. The latest version offers a new, swipe-inspired UI and third-party developer tools, and forms the basis of increasingly powerful Nokia experiences. It is the cornerstone of our Asha family of devices, which we believe is head and shoulders above the competition in the market for smartphones priced under $100.

Many developers lost time and money developing for Symbian S60 and Maemo? Why should they trust Nokia now?
Where Series 40 is concerned, you need only look at our investments. We have taken a 360-degree approach to help and inspire developers to innovate on the platform.

New tools such as the software developer kit (SDK) 2.0 and open APIs are lowering the time and investment required for developers to create great apps for Asha Touch smartphones based on Series 40. The newly released Xpress Web Application Builder (XWAB) makes it easy even for novices to create good-looking web apps for Series 40 devices, including Asha.

We have introduced new monetization models for developers, such as in-application purchases and in-app advertising, and with more than 140 billing integration agreements with operators, we also offer unmatched reach.

Series 40 is fundamental to our strategy to connect the next billion and beyond, and we are committed to helping developers benefit from the platform. It’s also important to remember that Series 40 has an installed base of 675 million consumers, which makes this operating system the largest currently in use, globally.

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