Nokia Courts Android App Developers

With the recent launch of the Nokia X mobile operating system under its belt, Nokia has turned to the next stage of its strategy to regain the company’s former glory in the mobile device market—mobile app offerings for its new line of smartphones.

The Nokia X software platform is based the Android Open Source Project. That means apps already developed for the Android operating system also can work on Nokia X—some with no alternations and some with a bit of updating.

For apps that need modification, the company offers its Nokia X analyzer tool that helps developers identify the required changes. According to Nokia, developers only need to maintain one code base and distribute a single application package file (APK) to target multiple stores.

Nokia has already worked with some of the most popular app developers, so the Nokia X app store already lists major players like Facebook, Skype and Twitter as well as LINE Free Voice and Messages, LINE Camera, LINE Bubble, Picsart, Plants vs. Zombies 2, Real Football 2014, Spotify, Swiftkey, Viber, Vine and WeChat, among others. Nokia also offers the BBM mobile messaging platform, which is a first for Nokia customers.

Developers benefit from adding their apps to the Nokia X offerings because of the company’s extensive mobile operating billing network. Nokia currently holds billing agreements in more than 60 markets and with more than 160 operators.

"The reach of Nokia's operator billing network provides developers with a powerful revenue driver—up to five times that of credit-card billing offered within other platforms," said Amit Patel, vice president, developer relations at Nokia. "Combined with Nokia In-App Payment, developers have the freedom to build on the model that works best for them."

Nokia is wooing Android developers to offer apps for its Nokia X family of devices. (Source: Nokia)

A strong portfolio of available apps for Nokia X will certainly help the company compete with the big mobile device market holders, namely Android and Apple iOS. While it was once a leader in the mobile phone industry, Nokia has lost market share in recent years. The company is hoping to reverse that trend with its launch of the Nokia X operating system and the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL devices.