Orange sends S60 customised love letter

Can Microsoft keep writing its Signature?

Orange has picked S60 as its mobile platform of choice and claims using the Nokia technology will help speed device customisation.

Nokia and Orange will now develop an Orange-flavoured software package to work with S60 and bring together the operator and platform's road-map.

Orange's decision to make S60 its favourite platform will allow it to bring consistency to its 'Signature' range of business devices. The S60 love-in could come as a dry slap to Microsoft - the Signature range has typically been stuffed with phones running Windows Mobile from OEM HTC, while S60 runs on the rival Symbian operating system. Orange could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nokia currently has three other licensees for S60 (formerly known as Series 60): Lenovo, LG and Samsung. Currently all phones on the market using the latest version of S60, released earlier this year, are made by Nokia.

According to a Nokia spokesman, the dearth of non-Finnish phones packing the most up-to-date version of the platform is due to a lack of necessary skills at the other manufacturers.

The spokesman said: "Now there is a pull from the operators, we will see a lot more activity... We already have the competencies in house so we're faster but we are going to see the others catch up."