Richard: Security has been one of the big changes in the platform, also one of the most contentious, how has this been received by the industry?

Mikko: It was very positively received, and as you say it is one of the key technical changes to take place in the platform as it moves into the 3rd Edition. However I think the 3rd Edition changes which excited our licensees, and the industry as a whole, the most are those that allow the platform to migrate to devices at lower price points and address the market in the mid range. Clearly, however, security is required. It is a benefit for the entire industry and we are certainly seeing a requirement for it from the operators. It does create some issues for third party developers but on the other hand it also protects their business. If mobile handsets were to get affected by viruses then it would not be good for the business as a whole.

Richard: While we now have the first 3rd Edition device announced in the Nseries N91 some of the competition have been taking pot shots at Symbian OS v9 and 3rd Edition saying the real-time features are unproven. What is your view on that?

Mikko: It is true that it can take time to integrate a platform into hardware and create a phone. When we announced that Series 60 2nd Edition Feature Pack 3 was available in the first quarter we expected it would take 3 to 6 months for it to get into a device. Now we have the N90, due for release during the second quarter.

In terms of the real-time capabilities our licensees are working in this area and as you say Nokia has announced the first 3rd Edition device. We certainly don't see any obstacles in delivering devices that use this capability.

Richard: Nokia is still the principal user of Series 60, are the other licensees still enthusiastic for the platform?

Mikko: Nokia is a big part of Series 60, but I think we saw clearly from 3GSM that the other licensees are strongly behind the platform. At 3GSM we saw other licensees launch more devices than Nokia. These devices included second devices from Sendo and Panasonic. I believe the Panasonic X800 is already in the shops, which also shows that the licensees can bring Series 60 phones to market quickly.

Richard: One area where Series 60 has been perceived as lagging, particularly compared to UIQ, is in the addition of aftermarket software by users. Do you see this as an issue?

Mikko: There are many factors that affect the way users purchase additional software. With Series 60 we have many well segmented devices and this variety serves a range of users. So other platform may targeted the higher end of the market or perhaps a more professional user who can identify additional software they need and knows where to buy it. Having said that we want to do more. We are implementing several features in the platform to make it easier for the user to find and download applications. So, for example, we now have what we call the active idle, a new version of the main phone screen, that can include links to products or channels were users can easily purchase additional software or content.

It is also a question not just of the phones features but the infrastructure and back end support for software and media channels. So we have been working with the team at Preminet to ensure it is easy for operators to implement the systems that can deliver applications and content onto the handsets.

Series 60 is clearly an excellent platform for aftermarket applications and content. We are working across the entire value chain to ensure the platform and the technology infrastructures are in place to take advantage of that and encourage users to download more.

Richard: There is an increasing range of platforms competing against Series 60. What do you see as Series 60's advantage over the competition?

Mikko: While Series 60 has many competitive advantages over other offering I believe one of the key ones is its ability to break though the "smartphone" barrier. This is the ability to both position devices in the mid-range and to support segmentation, the creation of specific devices for specific consumer needs. So we are seeing devices like the Nseries or the N-Gage that address specific customer needs. Series 60 is getting close to offering something in all price segments from the mid-range up and in all device categories, something no competing platform gets close to.

Richard: Back in 2004 it was announced that Series 90 would be rolled into Series 60, is this still on schedule?

Mikko: Yes we are still expecting to complete this merge by 2006. When it is done it will bring even more flexibility to the platform.

Richard: With the merge of Series 90 and Series 60 do you see Series 60 becoming Nokia's single Symbian OS based platform? Will it replace Series 80?

Mikko: The Series 60 evolution includes features that are currently available only in Series 80, one example is the support for QWERTY keyboards which is added in Series 60 3rd Edition. However, there are no plans to merge in Series 80 capabilities. At present there are still many features in Series 80 that don't exist in Series 60, particularly those for more specialized enterprise use.

Richard: What drove the decision to incorporate Series 90 into Series 60? Were you pushed to provide these capabilities by your licensees?

Mikko: The decision was made to undertake the merge because it was seen as a benefit to all players. This includes all the licensees, not just Nokia. For licensees, working with one platform is more cost effective than working with many. There are similar benefits for operators and 3rd party developers. The merge platform will also provide licensees with the ability to create more diverse devices.

Richard: Finally what do you see as Series 60's key differentiator?

Mikko: Flexibility and performance. These enable us to support many, diverse devices with operator customization and branding without affecting the underlying platform, so developers don't have to create many versions of their applications. It is this flexibility and performance which will grow Series 60 as the leading smartphone platform.

For more information of the evolution of www.series60.com.