Neutron :: Bomb

by John Calian |
Topics: Application Stores | Nokia | Symbian

Nokia has launched its own app store: Ovi. The concept of OVI has been evolving for some time now, and is the latest attempt by Nokia to capture marketshare in mobile services. Previously, wireless carriers were very reluctant to allow Nokia access to their customers via a store front. But now, after years of failing to significantly capture marketshare themselves, carriers are more open, even letting Nokia place its store side by side with their own.

Based on the press releases and news coming out of the MWC, it seems Nokia is really pushing into this area. Interestingly, Nokia is hoping to seriously capture more than the Smartphone users every other OEM is hoping to catch; they are going after all mobile users. Email, shopping, software, maps...

Niklas Savander, executive vice president of services and software for Nokia, said at a press conference here Monday that the Ovi application store is different from the others.

"This is not just a place to find applications," he said. "It's a smart store. That is not just for smartphones. It actually suggests things you might like and adds social location dynamics to show you relevant applications. And it shows you what your friends have bought. And it changes the inventory based on where you are."

For one, the store is not limited to providing applications for smartphones. Eventually, all Nokia devices will be able to access some applications from the store.

"It's not only about smartphones anymore," he said. "We must address the range of devices we have in the market from the high end to the low end. This is not necessarily about getting the 2 percent of mobile users who are already using applications to switch. But it's about addressing the 98 percent that will soon start using applications."

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