Nokia: Failing to connect developers and consumers Part 2

Part 1 of this post was created a mere 5 days after I started this blog. With very little traffic it got very little attention. Things have been getting better though, and I know of at least 3 Nokia (NYSE: NOK) employees that have subscribed to my RSS feed. This makes me very happy since the entire point of this little blog of mine is to criticize, praise, and inspire Nokia on everything they are doing in both the short and long term, but more importantly have them listen. I’m going to recommend you read part 1, it is short, but it is the foundation of everything I’m going to write below.

iTunes, Steam, XBOX Live. What do those 3 services have in common? They are digital distribution mechanisms for a certain type of content. iTunes does music and movies, Steam does PC games, and XBOX Live is doing a little bit of everything.

Synaptic Package Manager, Maemo Applications Repository, Firefox Add-ons. What do these 3 things have in common? Developers connect to this database so their work can be exposed and easily discovered by users.

I propose Nokia combine a central database model, with a digital distribution mechanism for their S60 platform, and future platforms in general.

Why would you want to do that?

Let us think of the user process for installing applications as it stands today:

Step 1: Identify the operating system your mobile phone uses. This is complicated for most people. I’m a cynic and I frankly have a strong belief that the average user is a little slow compared to the upper echelon of power users that my fellow bloggers, friends, and I are a part of.

Step 2: Find an application using a search engine. A tool is only as smart as the person using it. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is a fantastic, brilliant instrument, but most people can’t use it to its fullest potential to find applications. Trust me, I check my server logs and have seen some query strings that would make you twitch in disbelief.

Step 2.5: I call this step 2.5 since some people might not have to take it. I for one always check to see if the application I’m downloading is compatible with my phone. I have to since my Nokia E61 has a weird screen orientation.

Step 3: Connect your mobile phone to your computer and install your recently discovered application. This involves installing the Nokia PC Suite. A PC application that deserves its own blog post for how much dissatisfaction I have with it.

Now if a user can get up to step 2 in less than 10 minutes then I’ll be impressed. The whole hooking up your phone to your PC procedure is where I see a lot of people giving up.

How would a database solve this?

I am not, I repeat NOT, telling Nokia to go out there and find every single application for S60 and add it to a database. Developers should opt in to the Nokia database much like Firefox add-ons are added by developers.

Take iTunes, or Amazon. Imagine how much of a pain in the ass it would be if every time I wanted to get music I had to go to the artist’s website and grab that album or song. Imagine if every single book I wanted to buy, I had to go straight to the publisher’s website. The inefficiency of that model is too great to comprehend, yet it is what we deal with if we use any of the smart phone platforms out there today.

My favorite features of the Amazon.com experience? User reviews are fantastic in helping me purchase an item, Amazon tells me that users who have purchased the item I’m looking at have also purchased A, B and C, and my favorite of all: one click checkout. There is a community around every little thing they sell, and they make buying things as easy as a mouse click.

Where does the digital distribution model fit in to all of this?

A database is only useful if you can access the data easily right? The Nokia Catalogs on our phones is a baby step in the right direction but imagine if that application could connect to a massive database where every 3rd party developer has loaded their work? I wouldn’t have to find out what OS my phone runs; I wouldn’t have to check if the application I want is compatible with my device. The Nokia Catalogs on steroids I would have on my phone would show me every downloadable application that is compatible with my mobile. Now I don’t even have to connect my phone to my PC!

What about payment?

If I want to buy 5 separate S60 applications, from 5 different developers, I have to enter in my credit card information at 5 places. With a central repository for developers to submit their applications, why not make it easy for them to accept payment as well? Amazon has one click check out, iTunes has your credit card attached to your account, and XBOX Live uses a points system.

What about a website?

Sure having an application that would let you see all the other applications you can install on your device is awesome, but what if you want to browse on the net? Set up a website, where a user logs in, enters in the phone he has, and now he no longer has to worry about device compatibility. He can browse for applications, he can buy them, but best of all … he can queue them! How does that work?

Imagine I see an application I want while browsing the net, I add it to my digital locker, and when I start up my phone it tells me I have applications waiting to be downloaded! No need to connect my phone to my computer, useful since I could browse and pay online and immediately have my applications waiting for me to download them whenever I choose to look at my mobile.

As a user I can also leave feedback and read what others have to say. Recreate that Amazon expierance.

Aren’t sites like Handango, All About Symbian, and My-Symbian doing a good enough job?

No they aren’t. First of all you automatically make the assumption that everyone who purchases an S60 device knows about one of the 3 sites I listed above. Next you have to consider the fact that not every single application is covered across those 3 sites. There are always some obscure little applications that only live in a small crevice on the net.

Did you understand everything? Summary:

Nokia makes a database that will be populated by developers. This database would connect to a website that allows for users to review, recommend, and interact with each application. Nokia would also make an application that should be included on every future S60 phone, and available as a download to current S60 users, that would let you access this massive database from the palm (NSDQ: PALM) of your hand. Nokia Catalogs on steroids. Let developers use Nokia as the middle man for transactions so the user doesn’t have to deal with different vendors all asking for that long string of digits you call a credit card.

I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for a long time, and this weekend I finally got a chance to! I’m very interested in reading what you guys have to say about this, and what Tommi has to say as well since he is in the position to pitch this internally.