Nokia throws its hat into the app store ring with Ovi Store

[n00bz0r]

Nokia throws its hat into the app store ring with Ovi Store
May 26, 2009 1:48 PM CT



Nokia's Ovi Store is officially open for business, bringing Nokia users an App Store-like interface to download third-party software. The available applications range from fun to practical, and while some cost money, many others are available for free. With Nokia's extensive reach across the globe, the company has the potential to grow the Ovi Store to Apple App Store proportions—as long as it fixes some UI quirks and appeals to the developer community.

Though the Ovi Store is technically available on a wide variety of Nokia devices, not every available app works on every device—the selection for less-capable devices will undoubtedly get better as more developers release software for the store. You can find out which apps work with which phones by selecting a specific Nokia device on the main Ovi Store page.

Like other mobile stores of its kind, the Ovi Store offers selections in a variety of categories, such as games, music, social networks, entertainment, utilities, and more, and users can search for content based on keywords as well. There's also a section for "Recommended" apps that will pull a selection of downloads made specifically for your device and tailored to your specific location—a handy feature when you're traveling.

As can be expected, the Ovi Store has had some hiccups upon its worldwide launch. The Ovi team has already acknowledged the store's slow performance on the Web after 2am ET this morning, though apparently the Ovi Store device client is performing "very well." Other hiccups include a number of apps showing up twice on the store's listings and in keyword searches, and general UI confusion. For example, clicking on a particular store category on the page after performing a search will not just go to that category—it will try to perform your search on that category, often resulting in zero results. You can only see everything in a category after clearing out your search terms manually or going back to the home page.
ovistore_qik_ars.png
Which Qik is which?

Despite these issues, however, the Ovi Store has been a long time coming for Nokia fans, even if it's a "me too" after the launch of Apple's App Store, Android Market, and BlackBerry App World. The current UI burps can be annoying, but they're not dealbreakers for anyone looking to add software to their Nokia devices. If more developers join the program—and we can't see why they wouldn't, with the potential to reach massive numbers of users—the Ovi Store will have a plethora of apps to cater to every need (whether that includes fart apps, however, remains to be seen).


Source: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/...ing-with-ovi-s