Nokia to launch apps store

Nokia plans to open an online application store, similar to Apple's Apps Store, in May.

Called the Ovi Store, most people using Nokia S60 and S40 mobile devices will be able to use it when it launches later this year.

Nokia plans to open the store in nine countries, with continued roll-outs to other regions after that, the company announced at the Mobile World Conference (MWC).

"The Ovi is a service that feeds you a constantly refreshing feed of content, personalized to you," said George Linardos, vice-president of product management for media at Nokia.

At MWC, currently taking place in Barcelona, Nokia has already unveiled two new smartphones, the E75 and the E55. Both phones will be available in the UK from the second quarter of 2009.

The E55 is being billed as the "world's thinnest smartphone", while the E75 is a qwerty side-slider phone.

At MWC, Sony Ericcson has already unveiled its 12.1-megapixel camera phone, the Idou.

www.ovi.com
www.mobileworldcongress.com