30 March 2010

Ovi Store Gets An Update, Easier Search,
Improved Rating System And More Information

As you may have already know, Nokia is making updates and enhancements to Ovi Store and the Ovi Publisher tools this week and as a result we got we got a new and improved Store after yesterday’s servers maintenance.

There are three main goals with this Store release: To make it easier to browse, search and discover content; to improve the quality of content reviews (eg: change from 3 to 5 star rating system) and to provide more product information to help you decide what to buy.

Also, when you click on a content item in this new version of Store, the details page offers more useful information. It is now easier to find and scroll through example screenshots to decide what to download or purchase (see examples below).

We’ve listened to you! Our new content rating system is based on feedback from our global user experience panels that preferred a 5 star system to our previous 3 star system. We also learned in those feedback sessions that you wanted to see improvements in the content review system. With this release and going forward, only customers who have actually downloaded something may rate and/or comment on it. In addition, you will know the reviewer’s device and when it was posted, ensuring the freshness and relevance of the user reviews you read.

You’ll also notice some changes on the Store desktop experience. We’ve streamlined the way you choose your Nokia device. If you’re not logged in and click to view content, you are linked immediately to the “Nokia Mobile Device Selector.” This experience is cleaner than our previous carousel-based interface. It ensures that your chosen device is continually matched with the correct content in Store. You can easily change your device by clicking the “Select your Mobile” link at the upper right hand corner of the page.

*click to enlarge

Finally, we’ve made enhancements to the desktop user interface for search. You’ll see a cleaner, list-based view of the content that makes it easier to choose items of interest.

Again, many of these changes in Store are the result of valuable feedback you have been sending to us here at the Ovi Blog and elsewhere. We’d like to thank you all for the comments and suggestions as we continue to improve the Store!

To get this latest release, open up the Store application on your device and click “accept” when prompted to install the new software. You can also check out http://store.ovi.com through your mobile browser.

Sincerely,
Eric and the Store Team