ITWire

Well, one thing is for sure...

There’s nowhere near the wealth of software available for Apple’s App Store, but it’s just the beginning for Nokia and given the N97 is but weeks away and Nokia no doubt has plenty of other multimedia capable phones already available and on the way, Nokia should be trying to pump up Ovi Store opportunities for developers and consumers as much as possible.

Nokia has in the recent past offered US $35,000 as a prize for developers to create Symbian apps, but clearly developers have been far more enamoured of Apple's App Store and its profit sharing system.

So, exactly how Nokia pushes the Ovi Store to consumers and developers now that the store has launched (at least for some Nokia users worldwide) will be very interesting to watch unfold.

After all, Apple will not sit idly by and watch as its hard-won developers jump ship to another platform. Nokia, Microsoft and others need to woo these developers to create apps for their phones, not just Apple's iPhone.

We're also yet to see what Apple announces at the Worldwide Developers Conference in a little over a week's time. Apple has been steadily improving the App Store experience, something that has no doubt been closely followed by Apple's competitors.

So, Ovi has launched at last, just in time for the upcoming N97 launch. Clearly, Nokia doesn't want Apple to get even further ahead than it already is.

With the Ovi Store finally launching, the sleeping giant that is Nokia has well and truly woken up!