Following the ever-popular app store trend, Nokia has announced the availability of the Ovi Store for select AT&T devices. The store will be available on the Nokia Surge, Mural, E71x, 6650, 6555, and 6350. What's more, users will have the ability to download content and charge it to their AT&T bill.
My take? It's great news. In today's world, app stores can make or break a manufacturer, and it's nice to see Nokia get into the game and open up the Ovi store to retail (mainstream) consumers. That being said, they've got a lot of work to do to keep up with the other app stores (Palm's App Catalog, Android Market, and to a greater extent, the Apple App Store).
If you're up for reading the full press release, it can be found below.
OVI STORE BY NOKIA DELIVERS CONTENT AND APPLICATIONS WITH CONVENIENT BILLING TO AT&T CUSTOMERS
AT&T customers using select Nokia devices can now download numerous pieces of content through Ovi Store with convenient automatic billing
White Plains, NY – January 6, 2009 – Today, Nokia and AT&T announced that Ovi Store by Nokia is now available to AT&T customers using the following Nokia devices – the Nokia E71x, Nokia Surge, Nokia Mural, Nokia 6650, Nokia 6555 or Nokia 6350 – with more devices to come. These AT&T customers will also be able to download free and paid content from Ovi Store with the convenience of charging their paid content purchases directly to their monthly AT&T bill.
To get started, AT&T customers with these select Nokia devices* can simply visit store.ovi.com from their device browser to begin downloading personalized content, like apps, games, ringtones, productivity tools, movie trailers and more.
· Step one: go to store.ovi.com from your Nokia device from AT&T
· Step two: once at store.ovi.com you will be prompted to download the Ovi Store application
· Step three: enjoy great content and applications for your Nokia device with AT&T.
"Nokia is happy to bring the exciting content available through Ovi Store by Nokia to AT&T customers in an easy way with a convenient billing solution,” said David Petts, Vice President and General Manager, AT&T account, Nokia. "Ovi Store provides consumers with mobile content and applications from some of the most recognized developers and publishers from around the world, and we are now thrilled to deliver compelling content to AT&T customers with a payment solution that simplifies access and use.”
Ovi Store is Nokia’s one-stop-shop for free and paid content, with support for a range of device types from smartphones to feature phones. Globally, an estimated 50 million Nokia device owners, in more than 180 countries, across more than 100 Nokia device models, have access to Ovi Store in 30 languages.
Many of the content industry's biggest names along with independent application developers are distributing their media, applications and games through Ovi Store by Nokia. Content providers and application developers interested in distributing their content through Ovi Store should visit publish.ovi.com<http://publish.ovi.com/>.
* Nokia E71x, Nokia Surge, Nokia Mural, Nokia 6650, Nokia 6555 and Nokia 6350
About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
