May 26th, 2010 @ BAFTA, London
ME presents the Monetising Mobile conference - putting the focus on how to make actual money from the apps revolution.
New Business Sales EMEA
Competitive Package
UK - London
Been trying all morning but still can't get Ovi app to load
Nokia finally launched its Ovi app store this morning, but all efforts by the ME team to get anywhere with the service have ended in failure.
The first thing we did was visit the Ovi URL at https://store.ovi.com/, but there was no immediate indication of how to download the app for your Nokia phone on the site, just a list of available apps.
After eventually finding my model (N95), I registered my details. This failed a couple of times. Finally, after a very long wait , it worked. But there was still no indication of how to download the client to the phone. I was merely offered apps and the option to 'send to mobile'.
I decided to do this anyway, choosing a free soccer app. Happily, within seconds I got a message on my phone with a WAP link. It's not exactly an iPhone or Android app experience, but it was a start.
Clicking on the link launched me onto the site, and to a notification that 'this application is unavailable.'
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Oh dear.
So, on to plan B, which was to go to 'download' on my phone menu and click on the Ovi Store icon to get the client OTA straight to my handset. Again, it was slow (even though I was browsing using wi-fi) but finally the app downloaded.
I was then asked to reboot the phone. Okay, did that. However, clicking on Ovi Store (now in the 'applications' menu) just refreshed the screen.
Every subsequent attempt to load the client has ended in failure.
It's all very sad. Really love Nokia, really wanted this to work. Could be down to sheer traffic. But even that can't explain the confusing UE. Let's hope it improves.
How sad and how predictable. Are there any other case studies of a brand that was so innovative and intuitive and is trusted by so many people and yet has fallen so far behind its rivals that it is embarrassing.
Why oh why do Nokia insist on announcing product after product a year or more ahead of availability and then launch it when it just doesn't work or its user experience is so bad that it can only set them back further than they are already.
I really wonder if anyone at Nokia has actually used an iPhone or an Android based device? It is brands like Apple and Google that are solving consumer problems with 'very human technology', not Nokia, and it has been like that for years.
I, like many people, really like Nokia and wish they would win but they have provided no evidence now for years that they are even vaguely capable of that. Presentation after presentation, all of which are extraordinarily dull, make claim after (sorry guys but) arrogant claim of the way Nokia will shape the future. Are they the only ones who can't see how dreadful their products are?
OPK announced at the Nokia music event in London over a year ago that "Nokia will become an Internet company". Well; you don't say? The only person at Nokia who seems to 'get it' is Anssi Vanjoki. Make him the CEO and give him the remit to haul Nokia through the changes they need.
Please. So many people want to see Nokia succeed but to do that they need to paint a clear picture of the future and plan a path to take them there. Right now, they are going nowhere but backwards.
And worst of all, they don't seem to care - just read the review of the initial Ovi experience above.
Can't say I'm surprised, even the developer experience dealing with Nokia is very poor.
I know I am not alone in having email after email ignored by Nokia.
I feel with OVI they have misrepresented the service to developers, and when you sign up you get ambiguous and conflicting documentation which they are not prepared to clarify.
Developers have told Nokia what they need to do - but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
Apple and Google must be laughing their heads off!
You've been very patient Tim. Techcrunch are not as willing to give the benefit of the doubt:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/26/nokia-ovi-store-launch-is-a-complete-disaster/" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.techcru...ster/
Well after months of waiting as a developer for my apps to be published they are still not published despite having passed QA. Nokia even sent me an email today thanking me for helping them fill their shelves.
I eventually got the app. The set up experience was poor. It made me restart the handset and the would not connect as the WiFi connection was already in use. Surely not!
Creating an account was tedious. They have missed simple things changing text type to number in a phone number field (why they couldn't get it from the SIM like other Symbian apps do I don't know?)
As for opening with more apps than iPhone - I don't see it. In fact the shelves are far from full!
Why don't they poach some Appstore employees from Apple and get rid of the current management team for Ovi and Ngage ?
It feels like one of the big problems here is the size of the company and they way they manage. As Tim points out there are many great people at Nokia, they have a huge amount of resource, but this is a total execution failure. Who is responsible? Why are they still at Nokia? Is it the same people who have been involved in other Nokia content offering (attempts)? Were they chosen because of their “experience” on those other offerings? Start again, hire a world class team and ship it right, the existing approach whatever it is, is totally flawed.
