14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia's Ovi platform, presented last year as "the key to Nokia's Internet services," has been greatly improved since its initial launch. The Finnish company showcased today the enhanced Ovi, offering users more info about how they can benefit from it.
"Today we are showing people how you can easily backup, sync and share your content using Ovi services on your PC, the web and your mobile device. Our stepwise approach to rolling out and integrating these and other elements of Ovi lets us learn and adjust according to the feedback we receive from people, so that we can constantly improve the user's experience of our services. We recognize that in the services business bringing something new to market is not the end of its development – it's only the beginning," stated Jussi Nevanlinna, vice president of product and portfolio management in Nokia's Services & Software business.
The enhanced Ovi elements presented by Nokia are:
– the Ovi website, accessible at this address. Currently in a Beta version, the website allows you to sync your contacts, calendar, tasks and notes between your handsets and the online platform. You can backup your data as well, all for free;
– Nokia Ovi Suite, a PC application available as a free download from the Ovi website. This allows you to back-up and copy content from your Nokia device to your Windows XP/Vista PC and back, and it's also an easy way to upload images and videos on Share on Ovi;
– Files on Ovi, which provides remote access to the content of your PC, via any Web-capable mobile phone.
Nokia showcased its Ovi platform during a live chat session, where three of the company's developers were present: Aapo Bovellan, head of Ovi Product Management, Kalle Ojala, head of Nokia Ovi Suite Product Management, and Keith Barraclough, head of Files on Ovi.
A pretty cool feature of Ovi is Anytime Files. Part of Files on Ovi, this allows you to store any content you want on Nokia's servers, and access it anytime, from anywhere, as long as you have a handset or a PC connected to the Internet. Anytime Files is available in two versions: a 10GB one, for 49.99 Euros per year, and a 30GB one, for 99.99 Euros per year (or equivalent monthly fees, if you don't want to subscribe for a whole year). A 60-day free trial is offered for the Anytime Files service, so that you can have the chance to see if it suits your needs.
Another good-to-know thing about Ovi is the fact that Mac users will soon have a Nokia Ovi Suite version and a version for Linux might also be released.
Interestingly enough, Nokia avoided to say which are the services that the company sees as Ovi's competitors – although Apple's iTune is clearly among them.
An explanatory Ovi video can be viewed on the Nokia Events website, found at this address, where a live chat session (similar to the one mentioned above) will be held tomorrow, September 10, starting 7:10 CET.