Nokia to pre-install Silverlight on S60 smartphones

In an effort to make its Silverlight technology as ubiquitous as its competitor Flash, Microsoft is moving full speed ahead to promote its adoption through some partnerships, including a deal with Nokia to make the cross-platform browser plug-in available on Nokia’s S60 smartphones running Symbian OS, as well as on S40 devices and internet tablets.

This is a big deal for Microsoft given Nokia’s phones, and specifically those running the S60 software platform, have a dominant place in the market with more than 53% market share of the 35.5 million smartphones shipped in Q4 2007. That said, Nokia is not backing Microsoft exclusively, having signed a similar deal with Adobe for Flash Lite last year. Microsoft will be demonstrating Silverlight on S60 during a keynote at its MIX08 conference on March 5 in Las Vegas, with a developers’ kit reportedly “intended” to be available later this year.