Let’s face it – it’s tough to be an S60 developer right now. While there’s a huge potential market out there, Nokia doesn’t do much to help spread new applications, though I have noticed that they’re making it easier to write the applications, by supporting a plethora of different programming languages and such. It’s also just not fashionable. However, S60 users tend to be quite educated, and apt to installing applications anyways – 90% of the Symbian-Guru readers from our survey have 5 or more applications on their phones.
One thing, though, that I do like about S60 developers is that many of them are starting to do 2 things that really stand out, and deserve to be highlighted. The first is simple – including a built-in function to check for updates online, right from the phone. The second is allowing me to transfer my license code to a new IMEI.
The built-in function to check for updates online is found in quite a few applications, including Mobbler, SkyFire, SportsTracker, FriendView, and Slick IM, among others. This overcomes a huge hurdle with user-installed applications, specifically if your application is prone to receive frequent updates (which is, by the way, a GOOD thing). I like knowing that if I find a bug, there’s a chance that the application will be updated to fix that, or that new features will be added. Developers that make it dead-simple for me as a user to get the latest version deserve to be commended.
Allowing me to transfer my license code to a new IMEI is also key, and is easily a selling point, if you ask me. I think it’s incredibly stupid that application license keys are tied to a specific phone’s IMEI, though I also understand that developers don’t have access to the SIM card number (or at least so I’ve been told), and thus, the IMEI is really the only way they have to verify a license code. Since it’s a necessary evil, I’m glad to see several companies and developers offering user-accessible ways to change the registered IMEI, should the user get a new phone, for whatever reason.
Two companies that I know of do this – LonelyCatGames and the newly launched StyleTap Palm OS emulator for S60. Both companies have a dedicated area of their website where users can simply enter their license key, as well as the IMEI they wish to change it to, and wa-la! This is such a great step, in my opinion, that will drive more users to purchase software, knowing that if they change phones, they won’t have to re-buy all their applications. If any other developers are doing this, please leave a comment to let us know, as they should definitely be highlighted for a job well done.
I wish that Nokia would get fully on board with this. Nokia Maps, in particular, does a great job of this. Maps v2.0 licenses are tied to both the IMEI and the SIM card, and can use either one to transfer or keep the license. I can put my SIM card in another S60 phone, update the licenses through Nokia Maps, and use my existing license on that phone. I’ve done this several times, and it works great. I’m told you can also do this with different SIM cards and the same phone, but have not tested that myself. Unfortunately, Nokia’s N-Gage is still a steaming pile of fail when it comes to letting users bring their games to a new phone. It requires a phone call, some explaining, and it’s been reported that it’s only allowed to change once, after which the license is locked. Bah.
Over 50% of Symbian-Guru readers currently have 2 or more phones, which means that this license-moving ability is an important topic, and I hope that more developers will acknowledge this, and make it simple for users to move applications legally from one phone to the other.
My ideal setup, since I have 4 phones that I actively switch between, would be an online form where I could enter in the IMEI of up to 4-5 different phones, so that my license was automatically transferred from one to the other whenever I turn the phone on. The easier the process is, the more likely that users will embrace it, and hopefully that will lead to less piracy, which will lead to more developer profits, which will lead to more quality applications for our S60-powered phones.
Did I miss any developers that are including either one of these features in their software?
Hi, I appreciate that it makes it easier for users to swap apps between phoens if it isn't locked
to the IMEI. However, you only have to do a torrent search for the companies you mentioned above to find that it is also highly pirated. Pleasing the customer is always an aspiration, but it cannot be done at the expense of the publisher's time and effort. People will always take toe free option if it exists. To see on average 21 copies being 'ripped' taken for free for every one sold (my actual stats based on wares/torrent monitoring) is pretty depressing.
So basically, app locking for anti-piracy purposes may be an annoyance but it is indeed a necessary evil – and certainly no reason to ignore piracy.