Nokia gets more social with applicationsKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The world's largest mobile phone maker is betting big on location-aware applications to differentiate its lineup.
Another example is the interactive bus guide iris in Singapore. This is a Web Runtime widget that utilizes GPS to help users find the nearest bus stops and service numbers, and to notify them when the next bus is coming. Nokia has also recently acquired Plum Ventures and will be acquiring cellity before this quarter closes. Both companies will become part of Nokia's Services unit. Plum Ventures provides cloud-based social media sharing and messaging service for private groups, while cellity offers services that aggregate address books from multiple sources onto one interface. Moving forward, Jukka said "things get interesting when we start using real-time user feedback, {and know} what users are doing live. That, I think, is the next step we are moving onto: Collecting information from devices directly while taking into account privacy issues". Rise of application storesThe rise of application stores has ballooned the number of programs which are now easily accessible by users directly from their handsets. Nearly every major phone manufacturer and operating system, from Apple to Nokia and from Android to Microsoft, has one to call its own.According to Nokia, its Ovi Store is available in over 180 countries in five languages. The company plans to introduce local content and language support for Brazil, China and France in the next quarter, with over 20 localized stores to be expected in Q1 next year. Since the Ovi Store was launched on May 26, it was faced with a salvo of criticism including the lack of content and a cumbersome installation process. All About Symbian has a lengthy list of 23 suggestions on how Nokia should fix and improve the Ovi Store. The director for X-Media Solutions, Media and Games Mark Ollila told CNET Asia: "We are constantly looking at what changes can be made and improving the relevancy on the backend so that the right content is coming through. We are also making sure that the items actually shown are the correct ones. In many ways, we are just ensuring the actual experience is something that's expected. We are constantly evolving the UX and doing the changes, but I can't go into specific details." He likens the situation to running a server that requires regular maintenance. "With any sort of product and services, there are hundreds of priorities and UX is one of the key ones. But at the same time, we want to ensure that the relevancy is working and the right items are popping up. It's all these fine things that make a complete end-to-end experience important," Ollila added Key challengesAddressing teething issues with the Ovi Store isn't the only thing Nokia has to deal with right now.It also needs to ensure that developers don't have to write multiple versions of their programs to run on the various operating systems. The company is relying on a cross-platform application development framework called Qt (pronounced as cute) and Web Runtime (WRT) widgets to deliver that. The latter are mini Web apps that function like embedded applications, but which run off the Web.
"Content is King, but distribution is King Kong."
--Mark Ollila, director for X-Media Solutions, Media and Games, Nokia
Nokia deploys Symbian Series60 (S60) extensively in its smartphones. In June 2008, the company acquired the remaining shares of Symbian and turned it over to the Symbian Foundation--a non-profit organization that aims to create a unified smartphone platform which is available for free. According to Nokia, S60 will eventually trickle down to midrange and lower-end devices as the Linux-based Maemo powers higher-end handsets. The first of such a device is the N900 Internet Tablet which runs on Maemo 5. It has an ARM Cortex-A8 600MHz processor, up to 1GB of application memory and an OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator. A quick hands-on clearly shows that the combined benefit makes multitasking seem effortless on the N900. Another challenge is to bring applications to market. "Content is King, but distribution is King Kong," Mark said. Several channels are open to developers. They can publish their applications on Ovi Store or make the programs available through telco operators. Application sales are split between Nokia and the developer, with 70 percent going to the latter's pockets. As an overview, Apple commands a lion's share of attention with its App Store which has seen 1.5 billion downloads just one year after its inception in July 2008. According to a press release dated July 14, there are more than 65,000 apps available on the Apple App Store. However, Nokia is still the world's largest phone-maker with 1.1 billion users. That's a huge market to tap and a carrot to dangle to engage the developer community. Tags: Smart Phone, Application Sale, Plum Ventures, Symbian Inc., Nokia Corp.
|
)
- Talkback
-
aweysham says...
Some of those features are nice. not sure if I want people to know where I am. I assume that feature can be turned off?
Sep 17, 2009 13:14
Some of those features are nice. not sure if I want people to know where I am. I assume that feature can be turned off?
Sep 17, 2009 13:14
damiankoh says...
Hi aweysham, I assume that you're referring to Ovi lifecasting? Switching off the location feature defeats the purpose of the app doesn't it? The main feature of the widget is that it lets you post status updates and at the same time let your friends find out if you are nearby. Understandably, your concern isn't unfounded, so it would be great if there are sharing options, so that users can choose to publish the data to only a select group of people, or manage privacy settings.
Sep 17, 2009 15:00
Hi aweysham, I assume that you're referring to Ovi lifecasting? Switching off the location feature defeats the purpose of the app doesn't it? The main feature of the widget is that it lets you post status updates and at the same time let your friends find out if you are nearby. Understandably, your concern isn't unfounded, so it would be great if there are sharing options, so that users can choose to publish the data to only a select group of people, or manage privacy settings.
Sep 17, 2009 15:00
aweysham says...
you right, guess what I meant was to choose when or to whom I show my location. the feature would be great when you are to meet someone and you looking for the location but not "always" when posting. I like my privacy so I'll pass on that app.
Sep 17, 2009 17:15
you right, guess what I meant was to choose when or to whom I show my location. the feature would be great when you are to meet someone and you looking for the location but not "always" when posting. I like my privacy so I'll pass on that app.
Sep 17, 2009 17:15
To post comments, you need to become a member. It's FREE.
