Microsoft Silverlight on Nokia S60 Smartphones

I was wondering when this would happen, but well, it happened today. Nokia will support Microsoft's Silverlight platform (a competitor to Adobe's Flash technology) with a view to deliver rich web applications on the S60 (Symbian OS) series of devices.

You may already know that Flash is available for S60 in the form of Flash Lite, but now Microsoft is aiming for a piece of the pie. Lee Williams, Senior VP for Nokia's Devices software org claimed "Nokia aims to support market leading and content rich internet application environments and to embrace and encourage open innovation. By working with Microsoft, we are creating terrific opportunities and additional choices for the development community, S60 licensees and the industry as a whole."

Like Flash, Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in and is used on such websites as NBA.com and NBC Universal. With a mobile phone, the reach will be much higher. For a demo, check out the MIX08 conference on March 5 in Las Vegas. Developers can get their hands on Silverlight for S60 later this year.

(Via press)