Nokia dumps Qt unit on Digia
Digia says that it plans to increase the cross-platform development framework's support for a range of mobile operating systems.
Nokia has finally gotten Qt off its hands.
The company announced today that it has sold Qt, its cross-platform development framework business, to Finland-based software services company, Digia. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal or a sales price. Digia acquired a portion of Qt from Nokia last year. This transaction completes the changeover.
Qt allows developers to write an application just once and then deploy it across a host of platforms, including Windows, Linux, and OS X. Qt also offers mobile development support. And in that space, Qt supports Symbian, Nokia's N9, and Windows Phone.
That, of course, has proven to be an issue for Qt. In the mobile development world, Android and iOS reign supreme. And other services that don't support those two vastly important operating systems are being ignored.
Without saying it in such a way, Digia acknowledged that Qt has a bit of an issue attracting developers. However, the company's International Products senior vice president Tommi Laitinen says more platform support is coming to the framework.
"Now is a good time for everyone to revisit their perception of Qt," Laitinen said today in a statement. "Digia's targeted R&D investments will bring back focus on Qt's desktop and embedded platform support, while widening the support for mobile operating systems."
For its part, Nokia seems happy to see Qt go.
"We are pleased that we've been able to work with Digia to secure continued development of Qt by the current core team," Sebastian Nystrom, head of Nokia Strategy, said today in a statement. "Digia's plans to acquire Qt mean that it can continue as a successful open source project and also offer continuing employment for many people in the community."
Nokia dumping Qt wasn't its only move today. Mobile company Vringo announced today that Nokia sold it over 500 patents and patent applications related to cellular infrastructure, such as communication management, data and signal transmission, and mobility management.
Under the terms of that deal, Vringo will pay Nokia cash and offer up "certain ongoing rights in revenues generated from the patent portfolio."