Nokia opens Ovi app store

Nokia will open its own app store in May, it said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Nokia’s new mobile content distribution portal, called Ovi Store, will enable content providers to offer applications, games, videos, widgets, podcasts, location-based applications and personalisation content for Nokia Series 40 and S60 devices.

The first device to integrate the Ovi Store will be the Nokia N87, slated for June launch and set to run the forthcoming Symbian Foundation operating system. Developers will be able to start uploading content at publish.ovi.com from March.

Nokia called the application shop "unrivalled in size and opportunity" for content developers. It wants to make the store available to 300 million Nokia users by 2012.

Ovi Store will have a social discovery function that uses GPS so users can elect to prioritise content available from the store, according to their location and social networking habits. Consumers will be able to choose to pay for content with a credit card or through operator billing

Nokia Services executive vice president Tero Ojanperä said:

"The Ovi Store is a smart store that will change the way our consumers discover and consume content on their mobile devices, ultimately making the experience easier, more fun and most importantly, more relevant."