The Nokia Ovi Store now open in the UK - and other markets throughout the day
Published by Steve Litchfield at 6:38 UTC, May 26th 2009
The Ovi Store roll-out just reached the UK in the last hour for many device product codes, it seems that the store availability is still proceeding around the clock today, around the world, for up to 50 devices and (estimated) around 50 million customers. Go into Download! on your Nokia S60 device and hitting 'Refresh content', Ovi Store is now showing up, for example, on my 5800 XpressMusic (and my N95) in the root folder of Download. Screenshots, observations and comments below.
Steve's Observations
- Installation was smooth and but trying to sign-in with my Nokia account produced a 'Socket closed' error. Browsing through app pages often brings up 'This operation could not be completed due to an error'. Teething troubles, teething troubles....
- Annoyingly, there's no distinction in the store as to which items are Java and which are full, native Symbian apps. Tempting to just look at the price (i.e. £4 games are likely to be Java), but this should be much clearer.
- Performance of the Ovi Store client on both my 5800 and N95 wasn't brilliant, with waits of up to five seconds common between screens. Far more optimisation needed in the code (especially as more and more applications and items are brought online) if the Ovi Store is in any way to be compared favourably to the iPhone's App Store experience...
- There appears to be no obvious way to browse through each sub-category, e.g. Utilities, Social networks, and so on. Turns out the user needs to know to drill deep into Options>Categories - not sure many users will find this, Nokia.
- I also think there's plenty of room for improvement in the touchscreen handling in the client. Over and over again my attempts to drag a page up or down got intepreted as a tap on a product instead.
- Buying content requires at least three screens, sometimes more. That's really too many.
- Overall content level is low so far, but it's early days, let's give Nokia a week or so to iron out the wrinkles and finish adding in content? It's also worth noting that content shown is specific to your device and region, so exact items shown will vary.
From Nokia PR
Here's Nokia's own introduction to the service:
"Today is one of those monolithic milestones for Nokia and the advancement of mobiles, as Ovi Store has officially gone live. It’s a moment that many believe is set to spark a rapid evolution in the way we all use our mobile devices - exploring the depths of what your device is capable will be far easier with Ovi Store now primed to be the one-stop hub to let you soak up bite-size bits of free and paid-for content and apps."
"There is a mountain of mobile content already available for you to download to your phone, enabling you to flesh out your handset with new talents, ranging from innovative new location-based services to podcasts, videos, games, and heaps more. More than 50 Nokia devices are compatible with the service from day one, with stacks more slated to roll out over time - Nokia estimates that around 50 million people with Nokia devices will be able to benefit from Ovi Store right now."
Steve Litchfield, AAS, 26 May 2009
See Also
Our intial story on Ovi Store covers the rolling launch.
Categories: Software, Links of Interest
Platforms: General, S60 3rd Edition, S60 5th Edition
News Discussion
Unregistered
Nothing on my N96 yet but I have been playing on the web and wap site and it's all a bit slow.
Nokia must still be hard at work...
Nokia must still be hard at work...
mcpezza
Just appeared on my N95.
PaulyLaw
Nothing on my E75 yet
colm.smyth
Hi,
Had it in ireland since yesterday, installed great, no errors what so ever, however it must not be the full launch as there is barely any apps and 4 free games ???
App grade i give for ovi store, A+ in its implementation, content score so far, D+ (Could do better)
Had it in ireland since yesterday, installed great, no errors what so ever, however it must not be the full launch as there is barely any apps and 4 free games ???
App grade i give for ovi store, A+ in its implementation, content score so far, D+ (Could do better)
Unregistered
Ovi store working in Germany, too. Installed from "Download!" via WiFi on my 5800. Language of UI elements is German.
Unregistered
But the content you see is for your handset only.
And Nokia said they are in the process of moving the store from test to mail servers so as that process goes on more should appear.
And Nokia said they are in the process of moving the store from test to mail servers so as that process goes on more should appear.
Unregistered
Nothing appearing yet on my 5800xm. Will keep looking throughout the day.
Unregistered
abruenin
Where can I get the theme shown on the screenshots?
TIA
Arne
TIA
Arne
bheetebrij
I agree with your first thoughts, Steve.
Particularly, the loading of the content is sometimes too slow. Perhaps that will still improve... Steve, you think it could be something that can be improved by Nokia?
Also, for the apps I didn't find a way of browsing by categories. When I get home I'll check what you mentioned. In any case, that's a little too hidden for my liking.
Besides this, I like it! It has never been easier to get apps on my phone... quite the change. I also like that you can leave your "reviews" and ratings right on the app... obviously, that's the way it should be, but I wanted to highlight it as something very possitive.
I wonder how many people will download this on their phone. It surely needs to come preloaded... I'm glad it will.
Particularly, the loading of the content is sometimes too slow. Perhaps that will still improve... Steve, you think it could be something that can be improved by Nokia?
Also, for the apps I didn't find a way of browsing by categories. When I get home I'll check what you mentioned. In any case, that's a little too hidden for my liking.
Besides this, I like it! It has never been easier to get apps on my phone... quite the change. I also like that you can leave your "reviews" and ratings right on the app... obviously, that's the way it should be, but I wanted to highlight it as something very possitive.
I wonder how many people will download this on their phone. It surely needs to come preloaded... I'm glad it will.
slitchfield
@abruenin: It's PiZero's Ice, I believe.
Richard Ross
...and on my E71. Usual Nokia quirks - first I got a corrupted message on thje downloaded file then it took several goes to recognise my OVI/Nokia account.
If I were a new user I suspect I'd have given up and reached for my iPod Touch!
BUT... once up and running it works well. It's not a seamless between pages as Apple's AppStore but it's highly useable and I downloaded the AP news app which is (a) very good and (b) free and all went very well.
In short, brace yourself for the usual Nokia software quirks (of course, those new devices that have this in ROM won't have these issues) but it looks like a pretty good service and one that will grow over time.
If I were a new user I suspect I'd have given up and reached for my iPod Touch!
BUT... once up and running it works well. It's not a seamless between pages as Apple's AppStore but it's highly useable and I downloaded the AP news app which is (a) very good and (b) free and all went very well.
In short, brace yourself for the usual Nokia software quirks (of course, those new devices that have this in ROM won't have these issues) but it looks like a pretty good service and one that will grow over time.
abruenin
Though constantly updating the catalogue, I don't see OVI store in my download app (Germany).
@slitchfield: got it, thanks
@slitchfield: got it, thanks
Unregistered
The slowness could be server response due to the initial interest of new users all attempting to connect at the same time.
Having said that, the app hasn't arrived in my download folder yet despite several refresh content attempts. Could be Nokia's way of controlling traffic.
Having said that, the app hasn't arrived in my download folder yet despite several refresh content attempts. Could be Nokia's way of controlling traffic.
TheProdigalFool
I'm using an unlocked E75 in the UK with a Vodafone SIM.
The good news is that the Ovi Store icon appeared in Download! and appeared to download and install OK.
But, it won't run. When you click on it, nothing happens.
Have re-booted, installed, re-installed. Makes no difference.
The odd - sad - thing is, I'm not surprised. I wasn't actually expecting it to work. Isn't that a damning indictment of how far my expectations of Nokia have fallen?
Nokia, why, why, why can't you get quality-control right? How can you let things out the door that don't work properly? Your good reputation can only take so much abuse...
The good news is that the Ovi Store icon appeared in Download! and appeared to download and install OK.
But, it won't run. When you click on it, nothing happens.
Have re-booted, installed, re-installed. Makes no difference.
The odd - sad - thing is, I'm not surprised. I wasn't actually expecting it to work. Isn't that a damning indictment of how far my expectations of Nokia have fallen?
Nokia, why, why, why can't you get quality-control right? How can you let things out the door that don't work properly? Your good reputation can only take so much abuse...
Richard Ross
Quote:
|
The odd - sad - thing is, I'm not surprised. I wasn't actually expecting it to work. Isn't that a damning indictment of how far my expectations of Nokia have fallen? Nokia, why, why, why can't you get quality-control right? How can you let things out the door that don't work properly? Your good reputation can only take so much abuse... |
Frankly, if the N97 isn't absolutely awesome I'll be off to either Samsung (i8910HD) or the new iPhone.
Ratkat
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by TheProdigalFool
I'm using an unlocked E75 in the UK with a Vodafone SIM.
The good news is that the Ovi Store icon appeared in Download! and appeared to download and install OK. But, it won't run. When you click on it, nothing happens. Have re-booted, installed, re-installed. Makes no difference. The odd - sad - thing is, I'm not surprised. I wasn't actually expecting it to work. Isn't that a damning indictment of how far my expectations of Nokia have fallen? Nokia, why, why, why can't you get quality-control right? How can you let things out the door that don't work properly? Your good reputation can only take so much abuse... |
I too am using an unlocked/sim free E75 in the UK with a Vodafone SIM, and it works perfectly.
Not too sure on the overall experience yet as the servers are obviously being hammered, first impressions say it's got along way to go to meet the level of the apple app store.
Personally I think Nokia would have been better off just calling it the 'Nokia App store' no bugger in the real world knows what Ovi is
ccraig
i got the store on 5800 and n96 using vodafone sim, i have to say the ovi store on 5800 as not been a good experience with it keep selecting wrong access points and time out and connection loss, on n96 not had a single problem.
The games section is just full of java with a handfull of native games only. I cant understand the mind set of gameloft and ea they have published java versions of games they have native versions of
The games section is just full of java with a handfull of native games only. I cant understand the mind set of gameloft and ea they have published java versions of games they have native versions of
Unregistered
@ccraig
Are you in the UK?
Nothing showing on my N96 yet.
THANKS
RICK
Are you in the UK?
Nothing showing on my N96 yet.
THANKS
RICK
ccraig
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
@ccraig
Are you in the UK? Nothing showing on my N96 yet. THANKS RICK |
ricksvill
Thanks ccraig...
I bought my N96 direct from Nokia so I expected to see the store as soon as it hit the UK.
I have a T Mobile sim in now... must have a Voda sim somewhere...
I bought my N96 direct from Nokia so I expected to see the store as soon as it hit the UK.
I have a T Mobile sim in now... must have a Voda sim somewhere...
ricksvill
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ccraig
yes i'm in UK i swapped my sims to vodafone and it showed up in 3 of my phones n95 8g, n96 and 5800
|
I bought my N96 direct from Nokia so I expected to see the store as soon as it hit the UK.
I have a T Mobile sim in now... must have a Voda sim somewhere...
PMitchell
Quote:
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Originally Posted by abruenin
Though constantly updating the catalogue, I don't see OVI store in my download app (Germany).
@slitchfield: got it, thanks |
Bosambo
So as usual T-Mobile are blocking handset owners from certain features? Typical. I couldn't use N-Gage for almost a year because T-Mobile blocked the ports.
slitchfield
Worth noting, everyone, that ovi.com is under HUGE load at the moment, from all the worldwide publicity - not surprised everything's breaking. Suggest patience and trying again later.... 8-)
If I were Nokia I'd have rolled out gradually over the entire week rather than over 24 hours.....
If I were Nokia I'd have rolled out gradually over the entire week rather than over 24 hours.....