We now have a date for the effective closure of the Nokia Store as-is. Or at least a latest date. Microsoft has been sending out emails to developers and publishers pointing out the migration details for their content from the Nokia Store to the Opera Store. Along the way it listed a cut off date and a few other choice nuggets...

Here then are extracts from the developer email, with notes from me:

As you know, on November 18^th 2014, we announced our plans to replace Nokia Store with Opera Mobile Store as the default app store for Nokia feature phones, Symbian and Nokia X smartphones. 

Yup, covered here on AAS.

From mid-January 2015, you will be able to start migrating your content from the Nokia Publish site to the Opera Mobile Store. 

To do that, you need to follow three simple steps:

1.  First, register with Opera. This is something many developers have already done.  If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so here
2.  Next, when you receive the invitation email from us in January, you’ll need to visit the Nokia Publish site. Here you’ll be asked to give consent to have your content migrated across to Opera.
3. Finally, you will then be asked to confirm which content you would like to migrate.

Opera will then carry out the migration within 72 hours and notify you when the chosen content appears in the Opera Mobile Store.

Now, it's good to see a one-time migration path from one Store to another for developers, but rather crucially:

Opera will continue to provide signing for your Series 40 and Java applications.  More information will be shared in January.   

Please note that Symbian and Series 60 apps will not be re-signed by Opera, as noted in previously communicated plans for the Symbian platform.

Symbian really does seem to be the poor relation here, though perhaps the complexity of the Symbian signing toolset has something to do with it?

January to March 2015 – Throughout this period, Nokia Store customers will be notified of the transition from the Nokia Store to Opera Mobile Store and migrated to Opera Mobile Store. Beginning in January, a message will appear in the Nokia Store client. From February and concluding in March, consumers will then be transitioned over to the Opera Mobile Store.

Aha - we told you so. The recent client update was to embed the code and messaging needed to handle this notification and migration process.

Consumers will be able to purchase content from the Nokia Store until they are migrated to Opera Mobile Store or until March 31^st 2015, whichever is first.   Consumers can make in-app-billing purchase transactions until March 31^st 2015.

So March 31st 2015 is the cut off date, after which there will definitely be no more Nokia Store services. Presumably, even if a user declines the update/migration process, the Store itself will simply stop working at some point after the cut off.

As before, note that there's precisely zero follow through for purchases made in the Nokia Store in the past, so don't expect to be able to re-download the same commercial content in the Opera Store, if such content even gets migrated in the first place.

So, the usual advice applies. Grab and install all the apps you'll need on all the devices you own, before it's too late. And note that some of us have been archiving as we go, you never know when a folder of SIS files might come in handy.... Plus more developers are now skipping the official stores altogether and simply making available 'self-signed' installers (e.g. through AppList) that can be used as-is or with full capabilities on devices with custom firmware.

Hopefully the AppList Store is working out for you all. See here just in case you haven't already got this installed or if this is new to you. Also, as you have custom firmware installed, make sure you tick the option in settings to show 'unsigned' applications, you'll see extra applications!