Microsoft and Nokia are just starting to roll out Windows Phone devices, but a survey suggests the hardware is spiking developer interest in the platform.
Whether Microsoft's
alliance with Nokia results in more Windows Phones sold, it has produced one
short-term benefit: more developers interested in Microsoft's mobile software.
That's
according to Appcelerator and research firm IDC, which surveyed 2,160
Appcelerator Titanium developers Nov. 2-3 of this year. The resulting data
suggests that, in the minds of those developers, Windows Phone has eclipsed RIM's
BlackBerry OS as a subject of interest. That makes it the third mobile OS
behind Apple's iOS and Android.
"Microsoft is
enjoying symbiotic success with Nokia," read the
summary of the report. "When asked why developers
are more interested in Windows Phone 7 now than a year ago, a plurality (48
percent) said it was the Microsoft/Nokia partnership."
Nokia's sleek
new devices,
the Lumia 710 and 800, are apparently helping
drive that interest.
"Nokia also
received high marks from its new Lumia Windows Phone 7 smartphone announcement
last month, with 28 percent of developers saying they are -very interested' in
developing for the device," read the report. "This is more than double the
interest in Nokia's own Symbian and MeeGo OSes since Appcelerator began reporting
mobile platform interest in January 2010."
In the
survey's estimation, RIM is losing steam with developers.
"This quarter
saw a sharp fall-off in developers reporting that they are -very interested' in
RIM offerings with BlackBerry OS phones dropping 7 points to 21 percent and
PlayBook QNX-based tablets dropping 6 points to 13 percent," the report said.
"Put another way, there's now more interest in Nokia's new Lumia Windows Phone
lineup than RIM's smartphones."
Nokia opted to
abandon its homegrown operating systems, including MeeGo and Symbian, in favor
of Windows Phone. For the Finnish phone maker, the hope is that Windows Phone
will help it retain its global presence in the face of competitors such as
Apple's iPhone and the growing host of Google Android devices. Microsoft,
meanwhile, is banking on Nokia's global reach to help it spread a platform
that, despite some positive critical reviews, has not enjoyed massive adoption
by either consumers or businesses.
In a bid to
increase Windows Phone's user base, Microsoft and its manufacturing partners
plan to introduce more devices aimed at the midmarket. In theory, that would
increase the platform's attractiveness to developers, who obviously want the
broadest possible audience for their applications and games. But that increased
audience also comes at the expense of other platforms, such as RIM's BlackBerry
OS, whose companies will fight to retain what they have.
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