Desperate to turn around their struggling local operation Nokia is shopping for local OZ applications in an effort to boost their chance of success when they launch their new Nokia Windows based phones later this year.

According to sources the local Nokia operation, who have taken to banning journalists who ask questions about their struggling business is currently talking to several local developers of games and sporting applications in an effort to boost their application numbers. 

The Company is betting that a focus on localised applications, created and promoted in specific regional markets, will give its Windows-based smartphones an advantage over established rivals such as Apple’s iPhone.

Currently Nokia is wallowing behind Apple with only 55,000 apps for its operating systems. Microsoft has 25,000 for Windows Phone. Apple’s iOS has more than 425,000, and Google’s Android 200,000.

Access to a broad range of independent applications – from games such as Angry Birds to chat services such as WhatsApp Messenger – is seen as crucial for the success of any smartphone platform let alone Nokia say observers.

Marco Argenti, Nokia’s senior vice-president of developer and marketplace, told the Financial Times in the UK that the Finnish handset manufacturer would seek to galvanise its network of independent developers in dozens of countries to ensure that “the richest set of applications possible” is available when its first Windows device is launched later this year.
“One of the things that developers can see very clearly is with Nokia coming into the picture, the distribution of the Windows Phone changes quite a bit,” he said, “which means we are going to create opportunities for local developers, so there are more apps in general and more local apps.”