James Delahunty
6 Sep 2009 20:23
Nokia's Ovi Store has reached just 10 million downloads in its first three months, according to Kai Oistamo, Nokia's EVP of Devices, with the average user reportedly downloading 6 applications. The tally is a disappointing figure, to say the least, especially when compared against Apple's App Store, which surpassed 100 million downloads in just two months and reached 1.5 billion after a year.
However, there are reasons why Nokia's service hasn't taken off yet. According to Kai, the Ovi Store was marred with performance and other issues right from the start. "We totally underestimated demand on the first day. We had an outage on the first day which was not our plan," he said.
Users of compatible Nokia devices still also have to download the store to their handsets since it is not yet shipping pre-loaded onto devices. It also lacks the easy interface and usage of the iPhone App store. Niklas Savander, Nokia's EVP of services, said that the company needs to utilize its global footprint to make the store successful.
"When we have 100 countries, that's when we'll see the true potential in full swing," he said. At present, Ovi is compatible with 100 devices and is offered in five languages. It has a presence with 27 operators in eight countries. There are signs that it will experience a period of growth soon however, with its downloads rising 50 percent from July to August.