Digia buys Qt from Nokia to target Windows 8, iOS and Android

Qt developer framework gets a new lease of life as Nokia focuses on Windows Phone

Nokia is selling its Qt software business to Finnish developer Digia, which said it plans to target Windows 8, Android, and Apple's iOS with the application framework.

The two companies announced that they have signed an agreement under which Digia will acquire the Qt business and Qt software technologies from Nokia.

Digia already had ownership of the Qt commercial licensing business since March 2011, so the move can be seen as a logical progression from this.

Terms of the agreement, including the price Digia is paying Nokia for Qt, have not been disclosed. The deal will see about 125 staff transferred from Nokia to Digia.

Digia said it has ambitious plans to make Qt the leading cross-platform development framework for applications, and is sending out encouraging messages to current developer members of the Qt ecosystem as it works towards the release of Qt5.

The firm said it is committed to maintaining Qt's availability under both open source and commercial licences, and will invest in research and development in order to expand the reach of Qt onto even more platforms, including Android, iOS and Windows 8.

"Now is a good time for everyone to revisit their perception of Qt. 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," said Digia's Tommi Laitinen, vice president for International Products.

Qt has a long history as a cross-platform developer framework that has supported Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and mobile operating systems such as Symbian in the past.

Nokia gained control of Qt when it acquired developer Trolltech in 2008, but effectively had no further use for the platform after switching its phone roadmap from Symbian to Microsoft's Windows Phone in 2011.