Nokia reinvents NFC with Explore and Share mobile content service

Here’s a quickie on a “new” service from Nokia that it has released an official video for today. Explore and Share is a way for people who buy their phones in a Nokia retail store to get content from the Ovi store onto their phones incredibly quickly.

Numo claims GSMA award provides over 1 million active users

Rating: With a little help from our friends - Nokia, of course
One year after landing the GSMA Global Award for Best Mobile Consumer Application or Service, Norwegian company Numo Solutions, (formerly Mobile Nordic), boasts it has one million active users. However, it had a major leg-up from Nokia, too.
That figure of one million represents the [...]

Nokia is dropping the price for developers who make mobile apps for Maemo

I was lucky enough to get some time during MWC with Peter Schneider (the in house Nokia N900/Maemo guru) this week and he told me a little about new moves for Maemo developers on the Ovi Store. I was very impressed with the fact that they are so intent on adding content to it they waived the token $50 fee. I find this a nice step in the right direction and a gesture signaling that Nokia is ready to have the N900 stores shelves stocked. See a short video interview below:

Evolving avatars - the next phone craze

Rating: Charge the phone or the fish gets it

Forget ringtones and wallpapers, the latest fad for mobile phone is evolving avatars. Or so Bluestreak Technology and Cellfish Media would have us believe. The first two avatars are Pilou the Hamster and Surimi the Fish.

MWC mobile navigation: Nokia Ovi Maps doesn’t need a connection to work

Spending time in the Nokia suite because the Nokia announcement was very anti climactic, I got to chatting with the maps guys and I learned something interesting. Ovi Maps can be used out in the field entirely without a data connection. Yes you read that right, no data necessary to run Ovi Maps.

Nimbuzz reports over 1 million downloads through Ovi - looking good for mobile VoIP and IM

Mobile communications hub Nimbuzz is reporting that it has seen over 1 million downloads through Nokias Ovi application store - which is a pretty significant portion of the 15 million total installations that Nimbuzz claims.

Nokia Maps continues its demented rise - be afraid, GPS navigators

Nokia dropped a bombshell on the navigation world two weeks ago, when it announced a completely free mobile GPS navigation service. The application is almost as good as a free-standing GPS navigation device and it’s a free download to anyone with a Nokia device that has GPS… of which there are 28 different models. So it should come as no surprise that it has been a popular download. And Nokia has announced that it has already seen 1.4 million downloads of the app.

Nokia throws its weight around - new Ovi Maps mobile navigation service is free

In 2008, Nokia bought digital mapping and navigation company NAVTEQ for around $8 billion. That’s a pretty hefty price tag, even if NAVTEQ is widely regarded as the best mapping company around - and Nokia is trying to get its moneys worth. Today sees the launch of a revamped Ovi Maps, with a tonne of extra features added for free.

woZZon wins Nokia developer challenge

Rating: Clever use of Ovi Maps, apparently

Nokia UK has announced the winners for its software developer challenge and woZZon took the top slot. Other winners included Little Spender; Live Talkback; Virtual Scorer; and MoviesNow. Apart from being published on the Ovi store (obviously), the winners got at least £2,500 in cash.

GoMo grapples with social networking apps

Rating: Not much luck with Ovi/Facebook and Zbang
GoMo News isn’t having much luck this week with social networking apps for mobile phones. For starters, Zbang’s claims to have a mobile element turned out to be exaggerated. Then Facebook for Nokia wouldn’t work.
Having seen a teaser on Facebook for apps aimed at the mobile phone owning [...]

Nokia is the new IBM

Rating: It’s all about software and services
GoMo News snuck along to Nokia UK’s Xmas celebration at the Music Room in London’s Mayfair and had a very interesting chin-wag with some of Nokia’s top executives. As Dylan said, “The times they are a-changin’.”
The world’s leading vendor of mobile phones has been gradually mutating over the past [...]

Nokia moves the Ovi brand to PC client

Rating: Nokia Music (for PC) is rebranded Nokia Ovi Player
An interesting move by Nokia. It has taken advantage of an update to its existing PC client software, Nokia Music, to move the ‘Ovi’ brand onto the desktop. Personally, GoMo News views this as an attempt to combat the influence of iTunes – even in the [...]

GoMo 1-to-1 at CTIA: Verve Wireless teams with Nokia for Ovi

Verve Wireless is a mobile company focused on local media. Originally dedicated just to getting local news content published on mobile channels (including a much publicised deal with AP Mobile) Verve has branched out somewhat since. I talked to Chief Marketing Officer, Greg Hallinan, about Verve’s recent deal with Nokia on the Ovi store.

The new dawn of mobile location services at MoMo Berlin with barcodes, search, advertising and augmented reality

I wanted to start this article with the declaration that no-one can dispute the fact that location is vital on mobile. However, history is against me on this one. The fact of the matter is, is that location has belly flopped in the world in the past. Saying that and hoping to avoid the claim that I am a “terrible malicious blogger” – times are (gasp) finally changing.

Mobile social network GyPSii updates across the board

GyPSii is the location-based mobile social network from mobile developer GeoSentric. GeoSentric has been busily working on new updates and releases for the social network, and today announced a clutch of them together.

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