Nokia to release their own version of AppStore - Ovi Store
Nokia want a piece of the pie…
In a move to take on the AppStore from Apple, Nokia has announced that their own version of the store is set to hit Nokia handsets in a few months – only Nokia’s store is apparently going to be better.
The Ovi Store was announced at the Mobile World Congress and is set to be launched in May of this year to tackle to popularity of Apple’s AppStore. Nokia’s MOSH and WidSets services are set to be packed into one application store which Nokia is claiming will be “smarter” than Apple’s AppStore – well they wouldn’t want to bring out something that wasn’t as good, would they?
Nokia feel that their recommendation technology will be the key to taking the spotlight off their AppStore competitors which apparently takes a good old look at your habits and then offers up a number of suggestions that may take your fancy.
Nokia have got some interesting backing, already…
In the same way that Apple takes a cut of all sales, Nokia will also help themselves to 30 per cent of profits from all sales and already boasts a number of large names that will be featured in the store such as the likes of Facebook, Electronic Arts, MySpace and Lonely Planet.
The N97 will be the first handset to feature the AppStore copy-cat market which is set to be released in June but in the meantime the likes of the Series 40 handsets and the S60 devices will be able to use the service when it is launched – that makes up around 50 million handsets that will be able to access the service.
Nokia have an uphill struggle ahead of them.
However, if Nokia feel as though their big selling point is simply their recommendation technology then they may be setting themselves up for somewhat of a hefty fall. The AppStore was the first of its kind and is definitely winning popularity contests for its simplicity and general usability.
After all, the AppStore sold more than half a billion applications within its first six months of operating and currently boasts around 15,000 applications – taking on such a large presence in the market is hardly a move to be taken lightly.
Google tried and have yet to succeed.
Google’s Android operating system has also tried to take on the Big Boss but is still yet to show signs of putting up a fight with their Android Market.
Nokia has also announced that they are releasing two new E-Series devices, which they are hoping will attract some of the more casual users of handsets rather than the business users that the series was previously aimed at.
Ovi Store a danger to AppStore?
What do you think about the new store from Nokia – a threat to Apple’s AppStore popularity or a treat for Nokia fans?
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