Nokia to Developers: Don't Leave Me Now, Remember the Free Phones I Sent …
Here’s one way of retaining wavering developer interest following a jarring shift in platform: give away a bunch of free hardware. That’s what Nokia is doing now that it’s gone public with its decision to switch from Symbian to Windows Phone 7.
The company is sending members of its Launchpad mobile app development program two free phones: a Nokia E7 and a WP7 smartphone, as soon as the latter becomes available. “In light of the strategy announcement made by Nokia and Microsoft last week, we are writing to you today to assure you that our commitment to you and your work to develop innovative apps for Nokia devices remains as strong as ever,” Nokia said in a message to registered Launchpad devs. ” … We are very energized by recent developments, and believe the opportunities to develop for Nokia devices are as exciting and lucrative today as they have ever been.”
A nice gesture–wise, too, as Nokia can ill afford to lose developer interest, given its current circumstances. Free hardware is nice incentive to stick with the company for at least a little while longer.