Nokia's Ovi Store finally opens for business

Nokia announced its Ovi Store mobile application storefront is now available across an estimated 50 million devices worldwide, offering both free and premium content from thousands of media providers and independent publishers. First announced during Mobile World Congress 2009 in mid-February, Ovi Store is optimized for more than 50 devices in the Nokia portfolio, including the forthcoming Nokia N97--the storefront touts a customized and contextually relevant user experience determined by factors like personal contacts and physical whereabouts (or as Nokia calls it, "Social Location"). Consumers can activate social discovery features to receive updates and recommendations on downloads enjoyed within their social networking circles--in addition, Ovi Store will present content and applications tied to the user's present location.

Consumers in available markets can update their devices via the Ovi Store mobile application by selecting the Ovi Store icon in the Download! folder on their phone. The mobile client is available in English, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, with operator billing supported in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. Credit card billing is also available through the mobile application and the mobile website. Nokia said that additional countries, languages, devices and features will be added throughout the year--AT&T confirmed it will make Ovi Store available to its customers in the U.S. later in 2009.

During last month's Nokia Developer Summit 2009 conference in Monte Carlo, Nokia said Ovi Store is a critical component in its evolution beyond its traditional role as a handset manufacturer into what Forum Nokia head Rob Taylor called "a solutions-focused company." Nokia executive vice president of services Tero Ojanperä added that the company ultimately plans to offer applications optimized for all of the devices in its catalog, and will strive to foster a developer environment that cuts across platforms and leverages a large number of handsets. "We will work to make sure [Ovi Store] is not only a play for the high-end, but also for the low-end," Ojanperä promised. "Everyone loves apps. You love to have more in your phone. Content, in the end, is the only thing that matters."

Early reviews on Ovi Store are disappointing, however--TechCrunch calls the app store a "complete disaster," reporting that applications are suddenly disappearing from the inventory and that the user experience is overly complicated, with some basic search queries, like "games," generating zero results.

For more on the Ovi Store launch:
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