As Nokia slowly releases piece by piece of its Ovi puzzle, it’s slowly coming together as a single project. We already have Share on Ovi and Files on Ovi, and now we have the availability of the Nokia Ovi Suite, which used to be called PC Suite. The Ovi Suite is a 1.5MB web installer package, a similar setup to the Nseries PC Suite. Basically, this is a small webframe that will download the larger component files once on your computer. I think this is a really annoying way to install, because it means you need a constant data connection for the install, which some people don’t have.
In any case, the application should run fine on Windows XP or Vista (sorry, Mac and Linux, you’re not supported offiicially). Features of the Ovi Suite include the typical features of PC Suite. The ability to sync your device with Microsoft Outlook, transfer files, and install applications is there, along with the horrendous Nokia Music Manager application, which I strongly recommend you avoid at all costs.
I’m installing the application now, and will update this post as soon as the installation finishes.
You can download the Nokia Ovi Suite from Nokia Europe’s official pages here. You can watch the helpful demos here, as well.
Update: You’ll want to uninstall any other PC Suite that you have installed before attempting to install Ovi Suite, and it does require you to reboot your computer before you’re able to complete the installation.
Ovi Suite is a shockingly complete desktop solution from Nokia. I have to say, I had low expectations, but I’m *very* pleasantly surprised. It looks very much like the web-based Ovi page, with the various icons along the top left, and your information in the top right. The icons along the top allow you to access the various functions, such as Nokia Photos, Map Loader, and the like.
When you first start the app, you’re presented with the option to setup Watch Folders for your media. These folders will be monitored by Ovi Suite, and any changes will be shown. You can upload files directly to your Share on Ovi account, and there is an easy signin box that allows you to connect your Share on Ovi account, or create a new one. The middle box in the top right is a drag-drop-n-upload area that allows you to quickly upload to Share on Ovi. Unfortunately, it seems to be stuck on only uploading to your MyMedia channel, and there’s no option to choose which channel.
You can click the image below to get a full shot of the main screen:
The Gallery view can be sorted with all of your media (audio, pictures, and videos) or just a certain kind. In the top right of the whole app is a ‘Search Gallery’ area where you can search through your gallery of media. If you select (but don’t double-click) a file, you can preview it in the small window shown on the left. Right clicking on the file allows you to easily perform a number of different tasks, including sending it to a connected device or uploading directly to Share on Ovi.
If you double-click on the file to open it, whichever external application is appropriate will open (Nokia Photos or Nokia Music PC Client). I like that I have the option of previewing within the Ovi Suite, or accessing that file through a more full-featured option.
Thus far, Nokia Ovi Suite runs solidly on my Windows XP Sp2 machine, with a 1.8Ghz Core Duo processor and 1GB of RAM. It’s a bit slow, but I also have TechSmith’s Jing, Adobe Photoshop, and a number of other apps open, so it could just be overall system slowness.
Unfortunately, one of the things that seems to be blindly missing from the Nokia Ovi Suite is PIM funcationality. As the vanilla PC Suite has recently received a number of messaging and PIM integrations, those seem to be absent in the Ovi Suite, which is frustrating. I also noticed that Files on Ovi is not integrated into the Suite yet, so that could indicate updates are planned. To be clear, the typical sync with Outlook is still present, but the ability to manage your contacts within PC Suite, or send messages and that sort of thing, is not, as best as I can tell.
If you scroll to the bottom of the Home screen, there’s a link to see the ‘live’ version, which opens a new web page to this link. There you’ll see that Files and Sync on Ovi are definitely in the pipeline, and the direct link suggests that they’ll be tightly integrated into the Ovi Suite, as well.
I have to say, as much as I’ve hounded on Nokia for its sucky PC applications, I’m sufficiently impressed with the Ovi Suite, and look forward to future updates adding PIM and Files functionality.
