Nokia To Give Symbian A Makeover, Support Older Devices

Facing increasing pressure from competitors like Android, RIM and even iOS, Nokia was forced to make some drastic changes this year.

In February, they announced a deal with Microsoft in which they will use their Windows Phone 7 OS on new Nokia devices.  This meant that Symbian was shown the door and would eventually fade away. However, Nokia was still selling Symbian devices by the millions. It had to still support those devices with updates and feature add-ons. Nokia plans to give their S^3 devices like the N8, C6-01, E7 and C7 the new Symbian Anna.

“The Symbian Anna upgrade gives users a set of new icons, a faster web browser, improved text input and enhanced maps. In other words, your phone would get a free make-over,” says Nokia India’s recently-appointed director (marketing), Viral Oza.

There are already devices on the market like the E6 and the X7 that sport Symbian Anna. It can be expected on other devices by late July or September. Given Nokia’s track record, we hope they don’t delay this too much. Another great move by Nokia is that they announced the support of 14 legacy devices. Devices like the 5800 Xpress Music and the N97 Mini, which have been on the market for 2 years are also scheduled to get updates. Updates include a new Web Browser, emoticons and bug fixes.

Here is a complete list of old devices that are scheduled to get updates.

• Nokia E72
• Nokia E52
• Nokia E5
• Nokia C5-00
• Nokia 6700 slide
• Nokia C6-00
• Nokia C5-03
• Nokia 5230
• Nokia 5235
• Nokia 5250
• Nokia X6
• Nokia N97 mini
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
• Nokia 5530 XpressMusic

Noteworthy devices missed are the 5233, a best-selling phone in India and the original N97. Neverthless, supporting such old devices is sure to win a lot of goodwill amongst their old customers.