Nokia At MWC: BlackBerry BBM For Windows Phone Coming Soon; Nokia X, X+ And XL Android Smartphones Unveiled In Barcelona

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) announced at the Mobile World Congress, or MWC, in Barcelona on Monday that BlackBerry’s (NASDAQ:BBRY) BBM Messenger will soon be making its way to the Windows Phone mobile operating system.

BlackBerry recently updated BBM for its users on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry phones, bringing many new features to the messaging app, such as free voice-calling, BBM Channels, Dropbox integration and location-sharing. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop did not share an estimated release date.

“We've added some fantastic apps to the Windows Phone ecosystem, including Vine and Instagram, and today we're pleased to announce that BBM will be coming to the operating system,” The Inquirer quoted Elop as saying.

On Monday, Elop also announced that Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Photoshop Express will arrive on the Windows Phone as well, suggesting that Nokia is trying to improve the Windows Phone app ecosystem to go up against iOS and Android, The Inquirer reported.

“Today we're updating the Nokia Imaging SDK to version 1.1, which brings developers new features like image editing, performance optimised filtering and re-framing,” Elop said.

Nokia X, X+ And XL Android Smartphones

Meanwhile, Nokia also unveiled Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL, the company's first Android smartphones at the MWC on Monday.

"With the Nokia X, we benefit from the Android app ecosystem. However, we have built on this, with the device introducing new people to Nokia apps and services. It also means Android developers can bring their apps to the Nokia family in just a few hours,” Elop said.

While Nokia has not revealed the full details of the phones, reports said that the Nokia X features a 4-inch screen, while the Nokia XL will sport a 5-inch display, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Details of the Nokia X+ are yet to come.

In addition, Elop also claimed that Windows Phone is the fastest-growing OS for mobile devices, with Nokia accounting for almost 90 percent of overall Windows Phone sales.

“We saw Windows Phone become the fastest growing operating system in the world - lead by the Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 1020. In fact, the Nokia Lumia 520 is the fastest selling smartphone in the world in the 150-200 euro price-tag bracket,” Elop said.