Nokia, Software | featured news

Nokia agreed to sell its software-development business Qt to information-technology firm Digia, as the ailing Finnish handset maker continues to divest assets in a bid to return to profitability.

Nokia takes back control of the Symbian operating system, 18 months after it set up a non-profit organisation to oversee its development.

Nokia today publicly confirmed a milestone for the Ovi Store that also highlighted its current struggle to gain support from developers. The company now says that it sees 2.3 million downloads every day, up from just two million only a few weeks earlier. About 200,000 new users sign on each day.

You've been asking and imploring, so Anssi Vanjoki -- straight shooter, that he is -- now has an answer. Why doesn't Nokia switch to Android? Because Google's software represents only a short-term solution that will lead to bigger quandaries down the line, says he. Anssi was even graceful enough to illustrate this point with a vivid example, saying that mobile manufacturers who go the Android route are doing no better than Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter.

Tech research company Gartner reports that Google's Android will be in striking distance of Nokia's Symbian system for world champion in mobile operating systems, leaping past Research in Motion's Blackberry and Apple's iPhone iOS.

Microsoft Corp and Nokia announced an alliance on Wednesday to bring advanced business software to smartphones in a bid to counter the dominance of Research in Motion Ltd's Blackberry device.