Nokia’s Belle Update Can Prove To Be The Saviour For Symbian App Developers

Web development has evolved greatly over the years, so much so, that developers no longer focus solely on making apps that are meant to run on PCs alone. The rapid technological advancements made in smart phone industry have lured a section of PC developers to make dynamic and interactive web apps that run on mobile phones and browsers. Coupled with the fact that some of present generation smart phones run on blazing fast 3G and 4G LTE network, using media rich apps has become a possibility for their users. A website development company that caters to diverse clients cannot ignore the prospect of Smartphone app development these days.

However, Smartphone industry is ruled by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. New players like Samsung’s Bada OS have also appeared. Nokia, which is still the largest cell phone manufacturer, has been losing ground steadily in Smartphone segment to rivals over last couple of years. Industry experts have blamed the Finland based company for sticking to its Symbian OS which is showing its age. In recent times, some of high end Nokia handsets failed to woo the users owing to dated S60 OS. The Finnish giant however is in no mood to call it quits and that explains why it has revamped its aging OS and released feature rich Symbian Belle OS. Symbian Belle has got equipped with some exciting new features which brings good news for both its users and Symbian app developers.

Therefore, web design professionals specializing in smart phone app development should give Belle a serious thought before flocking to Android. Interestingly, for Symbian app developers, Belle comes close on the heels of Anna, which was its predecessor. However, industry experts think Anna was more of an add-on pack that gave dated S60 OS a funky makeover and added some speed and functionality related features. Belle, on the other hand, is redesigned from ground up.

The question Symbian lovers pondering over since its release is, will Belle be able to revive plummeting fortunes of Symbian amidst steep competition from rivals. Initial impressions of Belle are quite positive. Many developers agree that it is the smartest and most feature rich iteration of Symbian till date.

Symbian developers need to keep in mind that Belle focuses on personalisation. Needless to say, all handsets featuring Belle are likely to be touch screen based as is the first trio that are going to be released soon. Haptic feedback is implemented in Belle nicely and users will have smooth navigation and feedback. All apps that run on Belle will support the back button. Belle comes with a rotation gestures which will make using Ovi maps 3D a pleasant experience for users.

Belle’s new features contribute in making upcoming Nokia models more user friendly than ever. Its Live widgets are resizable, and the USP of Belle is support for NFC. A number of Microsoft apps are already available for Belle including Sharepoint and OneNote and this can pave the way for Microsoft app developers to come up with useful apps for this promising new OS.