Nokia finally launched its Ovi Store a few weeks ago, much to the delight of Symbian fans worldwide. Despite a few launch issues, such as servers not being ready for the onslaught of tech bloggers and power users checking things out, the store has done OK – even releasing an update earlier this week, directly to handsets, which I’m glad to see the Ovi Store team taking advantage of. Unfortunately, after the sale, it seems, the store falls flat on its face, as many readers and other bloggers have discovered.
Matthew Miller, who blogs at both ZDnet and NokiaExperts, has decided not to use the store any longer, and will revert to purchasing applications directly from the developer, based on his experience with the store. Matthew purchased Bejeweled for his AT&T-branded E71x, since it was listed in the store as being compatible with his device. Unfortunately, it seems as though it was not compatible, so Matthew logically asked Nokia for a refund, and that’s where things got ugly. Now that Nokia has his money, they’re not interested in offering a refund, but rather directed him to the developer – despite the fact that he purchased it entirely through Nokia’s Ovi Store system.
Matthew and a ton of readers have also discovered to their horror that there is no option to re-download applications that you have already purchased. This is a terrible experience if you hard reset your phone for whatever reason, or uninstall for testing, etc.
If you’re thinking that this situation of after-sale support sucking at Nokia sounds familiar, you’re correct. This is similar to the frustrations that most NAM Symbian supporters face. While Nokia is doing a great job getting the Ovi Store out there to explore and purchase from, once they’ve got your money, it seems the friendly service turns away.
The good news is that the Symbian-Guru Store is still available, with an ever-growing library of both free and for-pay applications available. You can access the store from your computer, or from your phone, just like the Ovi Store, and nearly every single application also has a free trial, so you can check it out before buying. Even better, once you’ve purchased an application, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a registration code, so that you can re-download and install the application on the same handset if you need to. Until Nokia fixes the glaring issues with Ovi Store, please feel free to continue shopping at the Symbian-Guru Store.
