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Even as positive reaction rolled in for the Lumia 900, the flagship fruit of Microsoft and Nokia’s smartphone partnership, reviewers repeatedly mentioned one point: the lack of apps for Windows Phone compared with its rivals.
The Windows Phone Marketplace has 80,000 apps — a big number but one that pales compared with the half million each Apple has for its iPhone and Google has for Android devices.
Once the dominant maker of smartphones, Nokia Corp. hopes to reassert itself by challenging the new top players, Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
This month, the Finnish company will release the Lumia 900, its new flagship smartphone. Offered by AT&T and featuring a sleek design and large, 4.3-inch screen, the new device is clearly intended to take on the iPhone and top-of-the-line Android phones.
If you’re in the market for a smartphone and aren’t wedded to Android or Apple’s iOS, the Lumia 900 is worth a look, thanks to its low price and easy-to-use operating system. For other consumers, though, the device is likely to prove disappointing.
The Lumia 900 is the first Nokia Windows Phone device to have a large touch screen, a popular feature on Android devices; an LTE antenna, which can connect to AT&T’s new high-speed network; and a front-facing camera for video conferencing.
Microsoft and Nokia will invest up to $24 million in a new mobile application development program at Finland’s Aalto University during the next three years, with the goal of helping create applications for Windows Phone, the two companies said on Monday.
The program is called AppCampus and will kick off in May, at which time interested entrepreneurs can start applying for grants. The two companies will split the bill in half. How much they will eventually invest will depend on the quality of the applications, according to Kai Öistämö, executive vice president at Nokia, said.
Read more about the Nokia-Microsoft collaboration
