Nokia Embraces Windows Live

Nokia and Microsoft announced Thursday that the Redmond software firm has created a suite of its Live services specifically for S60 mobile handsets.

Users in 11 countries with compatible S60 devices – including phones from not only Nokia but also its S60 licensees, such as LG Electronics, Samsung, and Lenovo – can download the suite as of Thursday, the companies said in a statement.

The suite includes Windows Live Hotmail, Live Messenger, Live Contacts, and Live Spaces. Additionally, beginning next year, customers who purchase compatible Nokia Series 40 handsets will also be able to run the suite, according to the statement. (Nokia has already incorporated Windows Live Search into its Nokia Mobile Search application and plans to extend it to support Series 40 phones.)

S60 devices run a Nokia-developed operating system based on the Symbian operating system, while Series 40 phones use a proprietary Nokia system.

According to statements by Nokia, as of February, more than 50 smartphones based on S60 had been released. In April, the company announced that more than 100 million S60 devices had shipped.

Users of Nokia N73, N76, N80 Internet Edition, N93i, and the N95 multimedia devices can run the Live services, according to the companies’ statement. The suite is available in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, UK, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“Initially the service will be available as a free trial and then customers in select markets wishing to continue using the service may be asked to pay a monthly fee,” the statement said. The download is available here.