Microsoft and Nokia are set to announce a new agreement that brings Windows Live services to selected Nokia S60 devices. From today, customers in 11 countries will be able to download the new Windows Live suite, giving access to Windows Live Hotmail, Messenger, Contacts and Spaces. This extends the agreement made last year whereby Live Search was to be provided as a free download for Nokia S60 handsets. New S40 devices that will be available next year will most likely have these applications pre-installed, or at the very least be able to download them too.
Windows Live Messenger for S60 has been floating around in a beta form for a few months now, and from what we've seen, users are impressed with the functionality. While the new Hotmail client doesn't feature the push email capabilities of its Windows Mobile 6 counterpart, it does allow photos and videos taken by a camera to be attached to emails. The Messenger client allows the user to set a display pictures and change status at login, as well as sending photos and voiceclips to contacts through file transfer. Check out the screenshots below to see how it looks - Phil Holden has some more pictures.
By making the core Windows Live services available on such a potentially large number of devices, Microsoft is turning Windows Live into something much larger than just Software and Services. This is starting to be about allowing users access to their information from anywhere, at any time, from any device. Windows Live Contacts is a central part of this, and as Outlook users know, contact information synching between your mobile device and PC is a very powerful and useful tool.
Nokia users can get the Windows Live applications via the Download! service on their handsets, or can visit http://www.nokia.com/windowslive for more information. The service will be offered initially as a free trial, but a monthly fee may be introduced. We heard that it could be around €2, which still sounds like a bargain. Think of all those text messages saved, though you should consider getting an unlimited data plan if you don't have one already.
And for those who like nothing better to look for the next release, we hear there may be a small beta coming later this year which advances these Nokia offerings. Time to move to Sweden :)
Press Release | Phil Holden's blog
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