Nokia unveils touch-focused Qt SDK

Nokia has made a play to exploit current application development trends with the release of the Qt software development kit (SDK) 1.1 integrated development environment (IDE).

The new toolkit is being position as an aid for building consumer applications on the Symbian platform as well as desktop applications on Windows 7, Mac OSX and Linux.

In a bid to speed up development cycles and bridge workflow gaps, Nokia has included its Qt Quick technology in the new release. This user interface (UI) creation kit is said to be usable by both graphic designers and application developers.

Nokia says designers can create fluid, animated user interfaces with complete project and code editing support for developers to then implement into the overall application.

By including Qt Quick in its latest developer offering, Nokia is also making QML available. This CSS & JavaScript-like language is designed to simplify touch screen UI development.

"Developers are seeking to provide high quality, graphically rich applications to stand out in ever increasing crowded application stores", said Purnima Kochikar, vice president of Forum Nokia.

"With this new version of the Qt SDK, designers and developers can work together to achieve this quicker and more effectively."

Nokia added in a statement: "In addition to Qt Quick, the Qt SDK 1.1 includes map and navigation features, imaging features for camera and photo gallery access, notification API plug-ins and other enhancements that enable developers to provide access to user content on the device."

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While recent reports positioned Nokia's Ovi store as some considerable distance behind Apple's App Store and download contenders including Windows Marketplace and Google Android Market, the company still insists consumers are downloading more than five million apps per day from Ovi Store.

Nokia's argues that now, with the release of the Qt SDK 1.1, developers can target more than 100 million Nokia devices - 75 million of which are touch-based devices - and that this will impact market rankings going forward.