There was a time when mobile content was nonexistent, and a time when it was king. However, many sources are currently saying that mobile content is seemingly coasting as a commodity at the moment, with ringtones seeming to have peaked in sales strength due to increasingly tech-aware users being able to create their own without obligation to buy. However, even as ringback tones seem to have come in to take up the ringtone slack, various other forms of mobile content seem to continue to do well. Full-track music downloads are still making waves ever since their availability on mobiles was established, due largely to the relatively low expense and great convenience, and mobile apps are still just scaling the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has tried to bank on the mobile storefront for quite sometime with its Nokia Ovi Store, a digital storefront that has tried to establish itself as a strong force similar to Apple’s iTunes. Debuting in May of 2009 to mixed response, the Ovi Store made a variety of mobile content types available to users seeking additional content for their mobile phones – personalization features, plenty of audio and video, applications, and mobile games have all been fair game. The Ovi Store is an expansion of the Ovi [“door” in Finnish] set of services that Nokia established in 2007.
At the time of the Ovi Store launch, Nokia posited that some 50 million Nokia-device users could benefit from the storefront right away, with EVP of Nokia Services Tejo Ojanpera saying “Ovi Store makes shopping for content and applications easy and fun for feature phone and smartphone owners alike.” Several month later – February 2010 — Nokia EVP of services Niklas Savander reported that the store now averages above 1 million daily downloads, almost 15 downloads per second on average.
Now the Ovi Store is facing a makeover of sorts, with Nokia working hard to make the interface more interesting and more feature-filled. Nokia is also focusing on making its “user-friendly” reputation more evident in the storefront, with greater ease of use on mobiles being one of the priorities in tweaking the interface. Nokia had in fact started thinking about a revamp as early as late 2009, clarifying that the storefont’s initial look was mainly a stopgap measure. George Lindaros, Nokia’s vice president of media products, mentioned in December that a serious revamp was in order, that the store would be rebuilt “from the ground up” in phases – while a handful of central components would remain in place, they would eventually be phased out as the changes expanded. “It’ll probably be about 75 percent from scratch, and three or four months after that it will be 100 percent.”
The ratings system on the site has been given two extra stars in response to user requests that the three-star system be expanded for ratings to be more indicative of quality. Reviews now also have the post date, as well as the device running the app being reviewed. Users now have to download an app in order to review it, making sure that reviews are written in the proper frame of mind. Searching for an app review has also been made an easier experience with a better list-style view of content found.
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