Nokia Introduces Ad Exchange To Attract Mobile App Developers To Windows Phone 8

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) has announced plans to launch an ad exchange to encourage third-party app development for its new line of Windows Phone 8 smartphones.

Known as Nokia Ad Exchange (NAX), the system is built off software from the mobile development company Inneractive. It will give developers access to 120 advertising networks in 200 countries. While the new program is likely being built to entice developers to produce content for the Windows Phone 8, the ad network will also target Series 40 and Symbian phones, the company’s older smartphone and mobile device models. According to preliminary information provided on the NAX developer’s website, the ad network will also allow developers to reach across to iOS, Android and Blackberry devices as well and adjust in-app for all of these different operating systems from a single dashboard.

The apps themselves, of course, will still have to be adjusted for each different mobile operating system. But Nokia is hoping that establishing a single integrated system for the actual monetization of apps will ease the burden for developers who are still hesitant to begin creating Windows Phone 8-compatible software.

“With the launch of NAX, Nokia will enable developers to simply and effectively monetize their apps, as part of our continued focus on supporting the developers ROI to build successful businesses” Richard Kerris, VP & Head of Nokia’s Global Developer Relations, said in a statement. “We developed this platform, with inneractive, to put control into the hands of all developers so that they can realize the best monetization solution for their apps.”

The company is also offering a new premium developer program, which bundles $1,500 worth of services and support for prospective developers for $99.

These new developer-friendly features come less than a week after the struggling Finnish smartphone giant fell from its spot in the top five global smartphone vendors, its first time off the list since the International Data Corporation (IDC) began compiling data on the mobile marketplace in 2004.

Now on the eve of their first crop of Windows Phone 8 smartphones’ release (the company said Monday that the Lumia 820 and 920 have begun to be shipped to retailers), Nokia has revealed its need for more third-party content, something that may not come for the Windows Phone 8 until it proves that it is able to muster up an audience large enough to rival its Android and iOS competitors.