Nokia is one of the major players in the app marketplace and according to Purnima Kochikar, vice president of Forum Nokia and Developer Community, Nokia’s Ovi Store beats the competition when it comes to delivering locally relevant content.
Speaking with Current.com.au earlier this morning, Kochikar said that Nokia and its Ovi Store had performed exceptionally well over the last year.
“Nokia is a company that is evolving very quickly and this is evident in our approach to apps,” she said.
“The Ovi Store has had good uptake over 2009 and it has now become very popular with consumers and developers alike.”
According to Kochikar, Nokia users have responded well to the Ovi Store and are downloading an increasingly large volume of apps.
“We have found that our active user base is increasing and this is evident when you look at the download figures. The Ovi Store is now recording almost one million downloads every day,” she said.
When asked why Nokia’s apps and Ovi Store is better than its competitors, Kochikar said it revolved around the availability of local content.
“One of the big differences is that Nokia has a much stronger focus on local content and making apps available that are more relevant for users,” she said.
“Australia is a perfect example of this with a huge amount of content designed specifically for local consumers.”
The longevity of apps has always been an issue for many consumers, but Kochikar was confident that they will be around for many years to come.
“I do think that apps will be in the mobile phone industry on a long-term basis. At the end of the day people want to stay connected and apps help them achieve that,” she said.
“There will always be indulgent apps that are more focussed on short-term entertainment value, but you also have to look at the apps that are helping improve society. This is evident in many of the apps that have been created for education and health care.”
Kochikar will be speaking at the Forum Nokia Developer Conference in Sydney on 2 March 2010. The event is designed to help content providers and developers learn about the latest business opportunities and tools for creating and distributing mobile applications.