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Nokia’s Download! App Moving Backwards

By TheGuru on September 9, 2008

One thing that I like to do once a week or so is refresh the Download! application on whatever phone I’m using (lately the N95-3) to see if they’ve added any applications that may be interesting. I’m actually rather impressed with the number of applications now available, even on the N95-3, which is a U.S. variant.

Two applications that struck my fancy today were Quote of the Day and JuiceCaster. I figured the Quote of the Day app was self-explanatory, and was pleased to see, upon checking the description, that it was free. I’ve heard of JuiceCaster, but was interested in a dedicated app, and also found in the description that this was freeware, so I used up some WiFi to download and install both applications, easily and conveniently, might I add.

However, upon starting JuiceCaster, I was greeted initially by the application wanting to know if it was OK to go online to update the purchase options. Wha? Sure enough, it turns out that the JuiceCaster application (which was priced at 0 in the Download! app) is only a 5-day trial, after which I’m asked to pay a subscription. Sure wish I’d known that before I went through the trouble of downloading and installing the app, AND using more data to update the purchase options.

Next I pulled up the Quote of the Day application. While this one appears to still be free, apparently it’s a Widget, though oddly, it asked for my WidSets login information (confused? So am I).  So…..I logged in, thinking it would download the Nokia WidSets application (which I’d been meaning to reinstall anyways). It didn’t. It’s just a Widget, that’s somehow uselessly connected to my WidSets account. Also, it has nice fading transitions that are S…l….o…..w…….and painful to watch.

So now, I’ve downloaded and installed 2 applications that I thought were freeware, standalone apps. One turns out to be commercial software, and the other is somehow mysteriously (and confusingly) connected to my WidSets account.

Why isn’t the Nokia Download! App more forthcoming about the various applications inside? Why not, in the price descriptions, simply say ‘free trial’ instead of the incredibly misleading ‘0′? On that note, I could easily add something about why aren’t the more popular freewares added into the Download! App, such as Antony Pranata’s Screenshot, or even WidSets itself?

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TheGuru

TheGuru, aka Ricky Cadden, started Symbian-Guru.com in November 2006, out of his excitement for the S60 3rd Edition version of Symella. TheGuru has used Symbian devices since the Nokia 6620, and is known for his perspective as a power user. You can follow TheGuru on Twitter at @Rcadden

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  • I think the download area as a whole is undergoing a revision, and thus resulting in conflicting information through it. Im hoping Nokia will release something ground breaking within "Download" soon.
  • MBeat
    Download! sucks. Say what you will about Apple and the iPhone, but the App Store is 100 times better than Download!.

    It's largely unorganized and most of the stuff in it is crap. Other than Worldmate, I don't think I've gotten one piece of 3rd party software from Download!. If anything, Handango should develop its own 3rd party app store-type s60 program.

    And why isn't the beta labs software part of D!? Just put a beta disclaimer up....
  • Cheung Yuen Wong
    Actually Widsets are / was available from the Download! at least still in the N82.

    When it comes to the pricetag they haven't been improving that since they first "launched" the application.
    All the things you download there are tagged as 0.
    (I've installed some several apps there, than uninstalling)

    The Download application was just recently updated with the newest firmwares, perhaps that is one of the reasons why Widsets have disappeared?
  • eh but Chuen, ricky is using the N95-3 which to my knowledge didn't receive any firmware update
  • Over here we've got a Free Trial section. Everything on it downloads a licence manager application and installs it to the phone, allowing updates of purchase options. Problem being, the licence manager is a different application for each program and they overwrite each other.

    Widsets is available on my Download.

    Gotta agree with Mbeat. The beta labs projects NEED a section on Download, perhaps with a Graduates and Archive section too, giving more freeware.

    Something I find criminal is that some things that work on most s60 phones aren't on most downloads. Zip Manager is a staple for me yet it's not on my 6120's Download, but is on my N81 8gb's. You mentioned Antony Pranata's screenshot and I'll agree. It should be on there, perhaps in a Developer's section with things like Calcium, Dedit and other useful freewares.

    How about Opera Mini? It's the application most phone browsers download first. Hell, I've got the address saved as a contact for easy and quick swapping between phones. Yet only one of my phones gets the right icon size. With the latest version on Download we'd all be able to easily download it and with the correct icon size too.

    Then there's the Google freeware S60 applications which obviously could have their own folder. Yahoo have their Onesearch bar and Yahoo Go which, despite being less popular than the Google offerings, are still useful freeware.

    Then there's all the free themes that pop up on the web from designers like P@sco.

    There's loads of really free freeware out there that people would try out if they could, or if they even knew about it. Download could become the centre of a device's software with a little more work, but as it stands it's just a novelty.
  • Janptr
    I never had problem to use Download from E61i but lot of trouble using E90. Have latest firmware. I.e trying to download Video Center and Mobile Search but during installation process got error that unable to install. Happen many times so now giving it up.
  • the download app has sadly always been a pretty much empty set of folders for me - due I guess to restrictions based on the Brand/location of my N95 8GB
  • Cheung Yuen Wong
    Indeed Dotsisx :-p
    you are right in your comment.
    Wasn't paying attention to the model number.
    (Nokia like to confuse people)

    Still I believe for most people the buttomline is that Nokia should really do something to improve their Download! application
    and that fast.
  • Bart
    I agree with that!!!! Very disappointing.
  • ashu
    i love nokia nokia nokia. I have download! Download! Download! Nokia is a charm. Download ah! I have long given up on it.
  • bersh
    em, the n95 and n78 etc have web runtime, wrt, which allows the installation and running of stand-alone widgets, culled from the widsets library. im a little surprised you dont know that, being that youre the guru and all. also, why is it that you use up data when you are connecting via wifi? something sounds wrong there.
    however, i too ran into the deceptive 0 price of various apps and think that the download app in general is really rather poor. they can't have more than 3-4% of the total apps available for symbian. and thats not even counting the commercial ones!
  • @Bersh - I understand the technical differences in a Widget and a WidSet. I don't understand the marketing differences, and feel like the naming and delivery mechanisms are extremely confusing to consumers. That's my point. :)

    Also, *I* used WiFi, but what if I was on a bucket data plan, and had downloaded those apps? I'd have wasted my limited data on misrepresented apps. Not good.
  • Who is smarter? The person who buys the applications for the smartphone or the one who makes these applications?
  • bersh
    gotcha
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