Phone manufacturers have discovered the secret the Apple has known all along, that smartphones need an ecosystem to thrive and Nokia is not being left behind on this one. The phone maker behind the Symbian operating system and more recently Microsoft’s partner with the Windows Phone OS has announced it would be launching additional services for its two signature devices, the Lumia and the Asha devices, which will be available on the Windows Phone Market in a few weeks time.
Here are the three apps you should look out for on the Windows Phone market in the coming weeks:#
Nokia Reading (free): This new app will act as a reading hub for anything from magazines to ebooks to news. The app will allow users to subscribe to news feeds, which will be displayed as dynamic apps on the home screen. The app will refresh news dynamically and will be great for getting news on the go without signing in to a reading service. It will be available from April on the Windows Phone Marketplace.
Nokia Transport (free): The new location-based service app will give users a set of tools that they can use while travelling. The Nokia Transport app will include public transport information on over 500 cities across 46 countries and will give detailed directions, real-time bus routing and train scheduling. The app will not be available in most countries and so users will have to check availability before downloading the app.
Nokia Drive (free): The Nokia Drive app was previously known for helping users maintain speed limits as well as gauge other driving metrics. The revamped app now offers speed limit counters as well as fully functional offline mode.
These apps are only a few of the hundreds of apps anticipated to populate the Windows Phone Market in the coming months.
