Does Nokia's Ovi Store Have Apple, Google Worried?
Today the company rolled out the latest beta product in its Ovi Store, the name Nokia has given to its foray into the application store market. Called Ovi Maps, the application features both 2-D and 3-D viewing of objects like the Eiffel Tower, terrain views of surrounding areas and the ability to browse nearby neighborhoods.
Ovi Maps can be downloaded and synced to Nokia smartphones such as the Nokia N95.
The fact that Nokia is rolling out an app store of its own may be somewhat alarming to other smartphone makers. Regardless of the buzz surrounding Apple's iPhone or any BlackBerry product from Research In Motion, Nokia maintains the biggest smartphone market share.
Apple and RIM, of course, are constantly looking for ways to grab more of the market and bring products to new customers. And while the Apple App Store has achieved more than 1 billion downloads, Nokia's ability to tap into its large customer base should at least make the Ovi Store competitive in terms of sheer numbers alone.
Is Apple really going to worry about another smartphone marker following it into the app store market? Probably not. It's nothing new— BlackBerry has App World; Google has the Android Market.
For Nokia, the Ovi Store is likely more about shoring up its customer base by rounding out its product offerings and providing customers with the ability to download applications to mobile devices.
Ovi Maps, on the other hand, is more of an overt move against Google and Google Maps. Nokia has already made the application available to its smartphone users and just released a Web version of the map. The API is similar to Google Maps and is instantly familiar to any Maps veteran.
Nokia has put its own touches on the service, such as 3-D renderings and night views. The more compelling feature may be the ability to sync Ovi Maps to a smartphone and then take it on the go.
Google might want to take notice. With Ovi Maps embedded on Nokia's smartphones, those customers could quickly become used to using that service for directions, maps, terrain views, etc. Because Nokia commands such a large customer base, those users could start going to Ovi Maps instead of Google Maps when sitting in front of a notebook or desktop.
Whether or not a seismic shift will take place remains to be seen, but Nokia is certainly catching up with the competition.