Nokia vows apps to become 'more central' to its future

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is positioning mobile applications at the center of its promotional efforts as the company seeks to make over its image and make up ground lost to rivals Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google. In addition to a series of new print advertisements and promotional posters touting popular smartphone apps, Nokia also is embedding software trainers in its local sales units to lure more developers to write for its Ovi Store. "Apps are going to be more central to Nokia's conversation," said Forum Nokia and Developer Community Vice President Purnima Kochikar in an interview with Bloomberg News. "It's no longer about selling devices."

As of the first quarter, Nokia's Symbian operating system accounted for 44.3 percent of the worldwide smartphone market--down 4.5 percentage points from a year ago--according to research firm Gartner. Apple's iPhone increased from 10.5 percent to 15.4 during the past year, while Google's Android surged from 1.6 percent to 9.6 percent. Last week, Nokia confirmed its forthcoming N8 device will be the last N-series smartphone release running the Symbian OS--moving forward, N-series smartphones will run the Linux-based MeeGo OS, although Symbian will continue to power lower-end devices.

For more on Nokia's applications push:
- read this Bloomberg News article

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