Develop & Publish a Mobile App in just a snap

For newbies interested in (duly hyped-up) mobile application development, this is good news. OVI has launched a designated website for the very purpose.  

Anyone with basic knowledge of web and no knowledge of development tools or programming languages can develop and publish a REAL mobile application in less then 5 minutes. However, every good news comes a bad news. This service only allows for a very simple application to be developed. A web feed reader to be exact which would only be beneficial  for bloggers or webmasters. Here are a few snapshots of this service.

Turns out that the good news is actually not that good. But then, we shouldn't be complaining because its from Nokia which is not in its best form these days.

So long Nokia OVI - Nokia to rebrand OVI

I have been using Nokia's Cell Phones since 2002. Nokia PC Suite had fulfilled all my transfer data, install apps, connect to internet through mobile, etc. needs. Sometime around 2008, I was instructed to download the OVI Suite while realizing too late that this was intended to replace Nokia PC Suite. 

First public beta was released in Aug 2008

Nokia actually intended to integrate the power of internet in their household application and involve 3rd Party Vendors for service provisioning on their devices. This could also have been their answer to Apple's App Store, an unfulfilled ambition nonetheless. I personally liked the idea but would rather they didn't use the sophisticated codename from Finnish language meaning "doors". Also I was disappointed by the shortcomings of OVI store, it was not able to 

• Recognize mobile devices that easily
• Allow convenient offline management and synchronization of contacts, messages, notes and calendar
• Properly integrate maps into the devices
• Allow effortless applications management and installation on devices   

Now, hardly 3 years after its launch, as they were learning from their mistakes and refining the product, Nokia decided to take OVI down and re-brand it simply as Nokia Services. This transition will start from July 2011 and is expected to complete by the end of 2012. Heres an explanation from a Nokia's Official

"We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compellingopportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.

The reasons for this decision includes the fact that Nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices – there is no longer a differentiation. For example, if consumers want the best mobile navigation experience, they know it’s a Nokia that they can rely on. These last few years, and moving forward, our mission remains unchanged: we will continue our work to deliver compelling, unified mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive technologies."