Nokia Singapore is rolling out the Belle version of its Symbian operating system for 12- to 18-month old phones like the N8 and E7 from today, showing that it has not forgotten users who have yet to abandon the “burning platform“.
Recently unveiled on new models like the N700, Belle comes with improvements like bigger live widgets and promises a smoother, faster interface than the rather outdated experience on previous Symbian editions.
Besides the N8 and E7, other phones that will get the Belle treatment here are the X7, C7, C6-01, E6 and 500. Nokia has yet to confirm the rollout dates for these additional phones except to say the update is “coming”.
To set up Belle on their phones, users have to is install the Nokia PC software, connect up their mobile devices and update from there (instructions here).
Nokia’s efforts probably won’t stop users – particularly savvy ones in Singapore – from moving on to newer phones like Nokia’s own Windows-powered Lumia 800 or Android and iOS models, but it shows at least that the company is keen to keep its phones updated – something that cannot be said of some Android phone makers.
The move also seems to vindicate what the company said, many months ago, about continued support for Symbian. The OS is no match for Windows Phone, Android or iOS for smartphones, but perhaps in the low- to mid-end, possibly in countries like Nokia-crazy India, the reason for for updating old models is clearer than places like Singapore, where iOS and Android rule.
