Nokia to promote online platform

NOKIA IS to hold an event in Dublin next week aimed at attracting developers to its online application store. The Ovi Store platform, unveiled last May, provides a place where Nokia phone users can buy and download applications directly to their phones.

Nokia Ireland’s Shane O’Brien says some of Europe’s best digital agencies and developers are in Ireland. “Even though the Irish community is quite small . . . there are some really good applications and content out there, not only local but also international.

“We have the Ovi Store as a platform and what we really want to do is introduce it to developers. We want to show them the process to develop for the Ovi Store and give them an idea of the support we can give to developers.”

This support ranges from loan phones to test applications to marketing and digital support, promoting content through the appropriate channels.

Developers will also have the chance to meet Nokia’s local team, in addition to Forum Nokia’s business development manager Benjamin Roszczewski and Nokia Finland’s chief engineer in its web technologies division Petro Soininen.

Developers who have already worked with the Ovi Store will also be on hand to share their experiences.

“It’s pretty much an open floor to create a discussion around how to develop for the Ovi Store,” says Mr O’Brien.

The event will take place on January 13th in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Dublin city centre.

Nokia says there has already been considerable interest and, while numbers are limited, Mr O’Brien says they will do their best to accommodate everyone.

The mobile application market is competitive and growing all the time. Earlier this week, Apple announced the number of applications downloaded from the App Store had reached three billion, with more than 90,000 applications in the store.

Google’s Android Market, meanwhile, has 18,000 applications.

[ http://www.nokia.ie/developerday ]