The price of applications varies from free to about Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} €30 (RM148). In the Asia-Pacific region, only Singapore and Australia have a localised version of the Ovi store. Malaysians can download the applications via the global Ovi store, which deals in euros.  

At the launch of Nokia Connect 09 event, during which the E72, 5530 XpressMusic , and 3710 were unveiled, The Edge Malaysia talked to Kenny Mathers, the chief developer of Nokia's Ovi store to find out more about its unique qualities and business models.

The Edge Malaysia: From a developer's point of view, what differentiates the Nokia Ovi store from competitors like Apple's app store?
Mathers: As a developer, the Ovi store is great news – the issues they have to deal with are about scalability,  unlocking distribution channels, and it's also a challenge to develop content for 20 or 30 handsets, which has its inherent costs.

With the Ovi store, we've taken that scaling problem out of the equation as developers have control over which devices they would like their applications to be tailored for. They can either choose a very broad selection of devices and sell it to multiple markets, or target very niche and localised markets.  

What we're seeing are developers becoming successful without a team of sales and business developers based in a particular location. And compared to other app stores, you could be one of several 20 or 30 thousand applications for one or two devices, so the question there is how would you get your content visible to the consumer?

Also, on top of the Symbian platform, there are similar run-time environments that make it easier for developers to customise their applications for specific models. For example, widgets built forthe N97, our second touch-based device, will also work on the Nokia 5530. And if you're building an application that runs on a Flash environment, that could work on seven to eight types of devices.

What's the approval process for an application to go on the Ovi store?
We articulate the content suitability on our website, which includes banning offensive material like sexually explicit content, or anything that is offensive to religious and ethnic groups. Then, developers select the price point, devices and countries they want to sell it to, after which it goes through testing by a content moderation team. Our internal service-level commitment is a maximum of 14 days from submission of content, and we're working to improve on that.

Fortunately there haven't been any bad incidents yet, but looking at the scale of content, there could be something that potentially could slip through the net. For that, we have an infrastructure that will manage that issue should it crop up, including a feedback system that allows the community to comment, rate and flag content. If any issue is reported, we've given ourselves a service-level time of two hours from receiving a report to examining the content and taking the appropriate action.

How different is the Ovi store from competitors like Apple's App Store?
The Ovi store is positioning itself as a store that is geographically tailored to the user, as opposed to a content aggregator. Your location defines the type of content you can receive. So, for instance, if you're in Singapore, you can see what other N97 users in Singapore are downloading. A feature we'll be including in the update is the ability to let your friends know what you're purchasing. So we've got a number of different layers that allow us to personalise the content based on your location, device and consumption habits.

Do you foresee more adult applications, like those for gambling, being developed?
I don't see a plan to see change in content criteria at the moment. It's a big challenge to see how we can successfully validate the age of a consumer. There aren't any plans to develop those applications for now, but we'll look at what the consumers, developers and operators are telling us, and should there be something we need to revisit in our policy, then we'll look at that.

How are the app developers paid?  
Developers get paid on a quarterly basis; after they've accrued €500 in revenue, a payment from Nokia is triggered. We offer a 70/30 split in revenue after taxes (70% for the developer, 30% to Nokia), which is the industry standard, and we're also working to increase the opportunity for operator billing.

What are the popular user trends that you're seeing?
It's a funny thing, but it's messaging applications that are consistently popular around the world. I personally expected to see more games and content type of applications being more popular, but it's interesting to see that users want apps that extend their Internet experience with utilities that help them stay connected to social network services like Twitter, Facebook, Friendster, and other messaging clients.