This is somewhat of a branch off my 5 Things Nokia Can Learn From Apple post. It was noted in the comments that Nokia has the Download! app, and while that’s true, it’s very far from what S60 really needs. It’s a great sales portal for Nokia, and a good tool for pushing Nokia’s software and selected 3rd party applications, but it also comes short of what it could be, and what it truly needs to be useful.
The biggest problem that I see in Nokia’s Download! application is that it is device, region, and SIM-specific. So, even though all S60v3 handsets (with the exception of the ones with an accelerometer) are capable of the same software, the contents of each individual Download! app can be drastically different. This is confusing for users, and further complicates the software discovery process.
The second problem is that there’s no way for anyone other than Nokia to add applications. Nokia is the only one to decide what applications can be listed in the Download! application, and there’s no way that I’m aware of for developers to submit their application for listing. This eliminates any competition from being included, such as in terms of GPS applications and such.
It also doesn’t keep track of updates for your software. Very few S60v3 applications have a feature that checks to make sure you’re running the most up-to-date version. If I downloaded an application through Nokia Download!, it doesn’t keep track of any updates to that application and alert me to them. It’s merely a one-time-get thing. This is inconvenient, specifically with applications such as Papyrus, RotateME, or EmTube, which update frequently.
How to solve this? Nokia and S60 needs to have some sort of repository setup, similar to the Internet Tablets and the iPhone. In fact, the iPhone is proof that it can be offered by a third party if necessary. There could be a registration process to allow legitimate developers submit their applications, and to discourage spammers from submitting junk/’warez’. An S60 repository should be pre-installed with several repositories, but also allow users to add more, should they chose. Developers would be encouraged to use the main repositories, but are free to create their own if they so choose.
A main feature needs to be the ability to auto-check for updates, and alert the user to those. This could require the user to open the repository application, but that should be all that’s required to get updates. Power users can use the myriad tools to auto-start the application if desired.
Thoughts from the community? Developers, would you be on board with this? Probably initially it should be freeware only, though there’s no reason that a payment system couldn’t be implemented (or developers could simply load up trial versions and sell a license code separately, similar to how S60v3 is setup now).
