Nokia launches new Symbian Anna OS and X7 and E6 smartphones

Symbian update will offer new looks and higher speeds, while X7 and E6 focus on gaming and business 

Troubled mobile phone giant Nokia has announced the launch of a new update to its operating system, Symbian, as well as two new premium devices. The X7, a full touchscreen device focused on entertainment and gaming, and the E6, aimed at business users, will launch later in the second quarter of 2011.

The company, which is aiming to move on to Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform by the end of the year, said that it still anticipated shipping 150m devices based on the Symbian OS.

The new update, codenamed Anna, will offer a faster web browser, new icons for its main interface, an update to Ovi Maps and enhanced security features. A new split-screen view will also be introduced.

The X7 handset will feature a 4” touchscreen and a stainless steel and glass design, and come with the games Asphalt 5 and Galaxy on Fire pre-loaded. It will also feature an 8mp camera and 720p playback, recording and editing capacities.

The E6 will include a 2.46” touchscreen along with a full Qwerty keyboard. Aimed at corporate users the device will feature Mail for Exchange, browser access to Microsoft Sharepoint, business grade security and the ability to read and edit Powerpoint, Word and Excel documents via Quick Office.

Nokia also said that its Ovi Store now includes 40,000 apps and is serving 5m downloads per day. The firm added that it intended to remain competitive until it made the transition to Windows Phone, and cited its devices’ graphics acceleration as an example. More developments on Symbian would come before the transition, the company added.
The Symbian Anna update will also be offered on some older devices, including the N8, E7 and C7.