Ovi Store, Nokia’s app and entertainment download store, rolled out last week to mixed reactions. Nokia owners worldwide rushed on to store.ovi.com to check out the wares on the Finnish phone company’s virtual counter, causing serious server problems which Nokia later apologised for.
Now that the initial stampede has slowed, we’ve had a chance to get to grips with Ovi Store nice and proper, and we reckon that even though it’s early days yet, it’s got the potential to take on the might of Apple’s iPhone App Store and even tempt some away and make the jump to Symbian. Read on to find out why.
Reach
Nokia estimates that 50 million users worldwide can access the Ovi Store in more than 100 countries, but the number of handsets that can jump on to the Ovi Store and stock up on apps is what stands out: more than 50 and counting. Whether you’re on a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic or a crumbly old Nokia 6670, you can access the Ovi Store and fill up on the best apps available without having to head out into the wild west of the net.
There’s no random approval process on Ovi Store
Apple’s iPhone app approval process is notoriously opaque and arbitrary: if it’s not banning e-readers because you can read naughty books with them, it’s letting through baby shaking programs. Ovi Store however is much more open, and will let just about any program on there that meets transparent guidelines: on the downside, this means the occasional misleading “app” like you’ll find in BlackBerry App World, but it means innovation isn’t stifled. Ovi Store even groups together plenty of VoIP apps that work over 3G. You won’t find those on the App Store.
Ovi Store offers operator billing
Operator billing hasn’t rolled out in the UK just yet, but Nokia is doing all it can to ditch the credit card altogether. That means you’ll be able to download away without having to remember to pay off another bill every month or whack in that 16 digit number: any apps you snatch off the Ovi Store shelves will simply be added to your phone bill’s direct debit. It’s not just a convenience thing though, as the easier Nokia can make buying on Ovi Store, the more people are likely to come back, driving sales and encouraging more developers to dip their coding fingers in the water.
Ovi Store makes it easy to share
Found an app you like on Ovi Store? It’s easy to tell people you know about it. Once you’ve installed a program downloaded from Ovi Store, you can hit up the Send To Friend option to fire off an SMS link. There’s a limit of 5 messages so you can’t spam your address book, but you don’t have to worry about your mate having installed the Ovi Store client, as it runs on the web too. Little touches like this could help Ovi Store go a long way with word of mouth.
Ovi Store has competition
You’ve been able to download Nokia apps off plenty of sites on the web for donkeys’ years, so Ovi Store will have to work hard to prove itself against all the other resources out there. Ovi Store will have to compete to prove why it should be the one stop shop for Nokia apps, and that means Nokia will have to work hard to constantly improve Ovi Store UI and make downloads even easier – and possibly bring prices down, as some apps are more on Ovi Store than other sites right now. Bring on the benefits!
