Props to Nokia for creating the catalogs aka the Download! client on most new Nokia models. It’s absolutley fantastic to have a single place to go to and find applications that you can install no matter where you are in the world. It reminds me of the application manager in Ubuntu where again, I can select anything I want, and it will be installed. Very useful indeed.
At the same time it’s useless.
In todays society we have changed the way we consume information from pull to push.
WTF does that mean Stefan?
I still remember, a long time ago I would wake up every morning, open my bookmarks, and go to my favorite web sites to check for news. RSS changed that. News comes to me, I don’t have to go to news.
I still remember once upon a time when I had to check my email. Now it comes to me, I don’t have to go to it.
Where am I going with this?
The catalogs are a brilliant source of applications, but how often do you expect a user to check for new ones to be added? Don’t you think he is going to stop checking once he reloads the catalogs for the 5th time in a row and discovers nothing has changed?
Possible solutions:
- Create an email newsletter that people can subscribe to so they get an announcement at a certain time interval about the new applications available.
- Recreate the catalogs solution on the internet, and slap an RSS feed on to that baby. I’m subscribed to My-Symbian’s RSS feed so I know about new applications being released for S60v3. It’s great for discovering applications.
- Integrate catalogs into the Nokia PC Suite so users can see what’s new every time they hook up their mobile to their computer.
Why should I have to find out about the Nokia Team Suite from Ed @ E-Series or Darla Mack? Yes I read their blogs, but it doesn’t mean everyone with a Nokia running S60 does!