Microsoft brings Silverlight to Symbian devices

Microsoft is likely to release Silverlight for the Symbian platform. Microsoft previously put a beta version online, but removed it again. A version for Windows Phone 7 and a port to Android are also expected.

Silverlight will probably only be available for S60v5, according to the description accompanying the download that ZDnet has published. Older versions such as S60v3, which runs on Nokia’s E71 and E72, among others, do not seem to be supported. Installing the Silverlight runtime on the phone allows Silverlight based applications to run on Symbian smartphones. An emulator, sample applications, and accompanying documentation are available for developers. Microsoft is expected to officially announce the beta this week.

Microsoft developed Silverlight as a counterpart to Flash. It is based on the .NET framework and is mainly used for developing multimedia applications. The software will also be made available for Windows Phone 7. A port to the Android operating system is also expected, although Microsoft has not officially announced anything about this yet.