Microsoft and Nokia team up to host Windows Phone developer training sessions

Nokia is determined not to lose its developer community as it moves to exclusive support of the Windows Phone. Evidence of this came today with news that the company is partnering with Microsoft to host developer instruction summits in both the United States and Europe.

There will be six total sessions, and all dates are set except Silicon Valley’s . According to the formal announcement about the series, the goal of the events is to show developers how to build for Windows Phone, and to explain to them why it is worth their while.

The second goal is probably the more important, as developers have seemingly had little trouble picking up the actual code related elements of working with Windows Phone. However, convincing them to try WP7 at all has been more of Microsoft’s focus, as it has been the stickier problem. Nokia, of course, has an implicit stake in WP7 maintaining a strong development pool, as if that stagnates, so will its phone line. And as the Finnish mobile giant has put all its eggs into this single basket, it has to succeed.

To be slightly more specific, the real thrust of the events is to show developers how to execute end-to-end development on Windows Phone, allowing them to quickly “write and sell [their] first Windows Phone app.” Assuming that the developer’s first app performs respectably in terms of sales or ad impressions, it could lead to more app development down the road.

Links to each event can be found here. The dates are as follows:

• Paris, France; 21 September
• Milan, Italy; 26 September
• Madrid, Spain; 29 September
• Berlin, Germany; 4 October
• London, United Kingdom; 10 October
• Silicon Valley, USA – Coming soon!

Nokia has another tool that it’s using to bring its Symbian developers to the Windows Phone fold: free Microsoft App Hub Registration for its Launchpad members. The savings is not extravagant to the individual, but it should convince some to at least dabble with Windows Phone.