One of the more curious Ovi services that Nokia has released, in my opinion, is Ovi Chat (and the accompanying Ovi Contacts app). It’s incredibly under-utilized, both by Nokia and by its target consumers. I’ve noticed fewer and fewer of my blogging friends being logged in, and almost none of my Nokia contacts seem to use it, either. Anytime we mention it here on Symbian-Guru, there’s a host of comments about how silly and useless it is. I’m quick to find faults in most of Nokia’s Ovi Services, but Ovi Chat is actually one that I have installed on every one of my phones and keep updated on a constant basis.
For clarification, Ovi Chat is the IM service that lets you use your @ovi.com username as an instant messenger username, and chat with other @ovi.com users. You can access this service through a number of outlets, including the Ovi Contacts downloadable app on your phone, as well as any desktop or mobile IM client that supports Jabber. For the purposes of this post, we’re specifically talking about the combination of using Ovi Contacts on your phone to chat with your friends on Ovi Chat. The naming is ridiculous, and I even had to shoot an email to my Nokia contacts to get clarification, which is ridiculous, as well.
Rather than give ways for Nokia to improve on Ovi Chat (I think they’ve done a fantastic job thus far), I wanted to take a moment to make a case for it. Several readers have, over the past few months, tried to convince me why Mobile IM is better than SMS. I can see benefits to both, honestly, and have actually started using Ovi Chat more and more lately, for several reasons.
Control
One of the first things that comes to mind about Ovi Chat vs SMS is the level of control it offers. With Ovi Chat, I can control who sees what information about me, and can control who is allowed to send me messages, by simply managing my buddy list. If someone is bothering me, it’s easy to block them, something you cannot normally do with SMS. You can also control what bits of information your contacts can see about you, such as what music you’re listening to, where you are, etc.
Profile
Ovi Chat gives you the opportunity to create your own profile. Here you can set a profile photo as well as a status message that gives others an idea of what you’re doing at the moment. You can also choose to share your current location using the landmarks you have saved in your phone, as well as personal information such as your physical address, mobile number, email address, or website URL. It’s an easy way, again, to share specific information with folks without having to give them complete access to all of your information.
Privacy
One of the major benefits of using Ovi Chat instead of SMS is the privacy that’s offered. Rather than giving out your mobile number, which basically offers uninhibited access, you simply give out your username. When someone requests to be ‘friends’ with you on Ovi Chat, you have the option to reject – eliminating the possibility of them harassing you further. You can also rebuke someone’s access privileges easily, if they annoy or harass you in the future. You cannot do this when someone has your mobile number. Given the control aspect covered earlier, keeping your mobile number private and giving out your username instead lends you a greater degree of privacy.
Presence
One of the benefits afforded by Ovi Chat, specifically on the N97 and N97 Mini, is the ability to show your presence to your contacts. The application automatically changes your presence based on the state of your phone, too. If you’re on a phone call, your presence will show this, or if you put your phone on silent, it changes to ‘away’. You can also set a custom away message, to give your contacts a better idea of your current status. On Symbian^1 and later devices, Ovi Chat is baked right in, and you can add your contacts’ Ovi Chat address to their contact card, so you can scroll through your phonebook and see who’s online.
As an added bonus to this, since Ovi Chat is based on Jabber, you can also add your friends’ Gtalk address to your buddy list and still get all the same great Presence features mentioned above. While you have to add them one-by-one, it’s still a nice feature. Dotsisx and I use this on a daily basis, and it’s awesome. This is also handy if many of your friends are using BlackBerry or Android devices – both have an excellent Gtalk application that offers similar benefits to Ovi Chat.
Battery Life/Data Usage
Ovi Chat, when accessed with the Ovi Contacts app, rather than a 3rd party IM client like Fring or Nimbuzz, is built into your phone, and integrates tightly with your Contacts application. It’s designed specifically to use a minimal amount of resources, including battery life and RAM, unlike these other platforms. I leave Ovi Chat logged in on whatever phone I’m using, all the time, and haven’t noticed a significant difference in battery life at all.
Cross-Carrier Compatibility And Portability
Yes, most phones have MMS support to be able to send attachments, but when you go between carriers, there can sometimes be issues. Some carriers also have a nasty habit of using ‘MMS Adaptation’, which shrinks images that are sent from unrecognized phones. I’ve had it happen with AT&T on my unbranded phones on several occasions, and it’s quite annoying. With Ovi Chat, files – including images, audio clips, documents, and locations – are sent as data, rather than messages, which means it all goes through the same pipes without getting ‘adapted’.
Also, Ovi Chat removes the tie that binds you to your phone number. You can login to your Ovi Chat account from any phone, on any network, anywhere. For someone like me, who changes phones on a daily (and sometimes more frequent) basis, this is crucial – I can bring my buddy list with me, and I’m not burdened with having to update my contacts, should I change my phone number.
Conclusion
So, while unlimited SMS plans, at least in the U.S., are pretty cheap, so is unlimited data. As such, there are some specific advantages to using Ovi Chat on your phone to keep up with your friends. The amount of mobile data that Ovi Chat uses is extremely minimal, and it’s an easy trade-off when you consider the benefits listed above.
As an experiment, I’m going to let you guys know my Ovi Chat username – rcadden@ovi.com. I’m comfortable posting it online because it keeps me in control. I would encourage you to install Ovi Chat on your phone, and then add me as a buddy. I can’t promise to respond quickly to your messages, but I’ll do my best. I’d also encourage you to post your Ovi Chat username in the comments, and get to know your fellow readers.
