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Nokia’s stab at the on-device software store game, the Ovi Store, will apparently not be launching with a carrier billing model as originally planned, at least in the U.S. Elsewhere in the world, like Australia, Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Singapore, and Spain, would still be able to buy their apps and have the charge forwarded to their wireless operator bill. RIM has recently released the BlackBerry App World and had PayPal as the sole payment channel, but I’m sure like RIM, Nokia plans on integrating new options as quickly as possible, especially for the U.S., where their market share is still negligible. Still, this is a downer for those who were really looking forward to all of the bells and whistles, but the biggest differentiator will be the social aspect of the Ovi Store. It will keep an eye on what you and your friends are downloading, as well as where you are and make pertinent suggestions. Mosh and WidSets have already been subsumed by the Ovi Store in preparation for the launch next month, and even without carrier billing in the U.S., it promises to be pretty awesome.
[via Reuters]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
