Symbian’s days may be numbered, but Nokia has promised to continue supporting the operating system through 2016, even as it gets ready to start releasing smartphones with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 in the future. But apparently the partnership between the two companies isn’t a one-way street. Microsoft has also developed software that could make Symbian a heck of a lot more useful soon.
Starting soon users with devices running Symbian Belle will be able to install a new Microsoft Apps Suite. That includes:
Microsoft Document Connection is for viewing documents on your mobile device. It supports email attachments and SharePoint documents.
Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast lets you view PC presentations on a mobile device.
Microsoft Lync 2010 Mobile is a communications tool with support for IM, voice, and web conferencing.
Microsoft OneNote will sync notes with users’ SkyDrive accounts.
Next year there will be another update that will bring native Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications to Symbian, as well as SharePoint synchronization for OneNote.
In other words, while Nokia will soon stop making Symbian devices, the company will continue pushing updates for the millions of existing Symbian users so their phones don’t become paperweights overnight. We’ve heard Nokia officials say as much before, but this is the first major announcement that really backs up the claim.