ovi.com

What was ovi.com

  • Ovi was the brand name used by Nokia for its suite of Internet and mobile-services, and ovi.com was the home page for that ecosystem. (Wikipedia)

  • It wasn’t just one service: under “Ovi” Nokia combined a range of offerings — apps and games, maps, music, media, messaging, cloud storage/sync services, file sharing, etc. (Wikipedia)

  • The idea: a unified portal/brand where Nokia phone users (and via web/PC) could access a broad set of digital services: download apps, manage contacts, sync data, store photos/videos, access maps, get music, and more. (brunodias.me)

Timeline & Key Changes

  • Ovi was officially launched on 29 August 2007 — that was when Nokia announced the initiative publicly. (Wikipedia)

  • Among its early offerings: a mobile-friendly services bundle including maps, music store, and eventually a games/app store. (Wikipedia)

  • In May 2009, the service store — Ovi Store — was launched globally. Through it, Nokia device owners could download apps, games, media (ringtones, videos, images), some free, some paid (via credit card or carrier billing depending on region/operator). (Wikipedia)

  • The platform also had tools like Ovi Suite (a desktop application replacing the older Nokia PC Suite), which let users sync or transfer data (photos, contacts, calendar, files) between their Nokia phones and PC. (Wikipedia)

  • Ovi also provided an email service — Ovi Mail — intended for use from Nokia phones or via browser. By early 2009, mail accounts were being rolled out globally. (Wikipedia)

  • At its peak, Ovi Store was serving many users; by 2011 it was reported that the store had grown fast in terms of available apps and daily download rates. (ArcticStartup)

Why it’s no longer active / What happened

  • Over time, the brand was phased out. Around 2011, Nokia started to transition away from “Ovi” as a label, migrating services to other Nokia-branded offerings — dropping the Ovi moniker. (allaboutsymbian.com)

  • As smartphones and mobile ecosystems evolved (with competitors and new platforms), maintaining a standalone portal/app-store for Nokia devices under Ovi likely became less viable. (Wikipedia)

  • Many of the services under Ovi (store, mail, share, files) were shut down or replaced. For example, file-storage services connected to Ovi were terminated by 2010. (Wikipedia)

Why Ovi was significant

  • At the time, Ovi represented a major shift for Nokia: from being purely a hardware/mobile device company toward offering integrated internet services. It attempted to bring to Nokia users a holistic digital ecosystem: content, services, data sync, media, store — similar to what later modern smartphone ecosystems would do. (Wikipedia)

  • For emerging markets and users of feature-phones/light smartphones (common in 2007–2010), Ovi offered access to apps, music, maps, and media — bridging some of the functionality gap with full-fledged smartphones. The availability across many Nokia devices increased its reach. (wapreview.com)

  • The model included support for third-party developers and services: in some cases via API (e.g. Ovi Maps API) so that external developers could embed mapping, or integrate with Nokia’s platform. (Wikipedia)

What ovi.com represents now

  • The domain ovi.com is still registered to Nokia. (Whois)

  • But as a user-facing portal for Nokia services, Ovi is effectively defunct. The umbrella brand has been retired, and the services once under Ovi have been discontinued, merged, or rebranded. (Wikipedia)

  • So visiting ovi.com now won’t give you access to the old “apps/music/mail/maps store” ecosystem; the site no longer serves as a consumer-facing service hub.

Key takeaways

  • Ovi was Nokia’s integrated Internet-services platform — a hub for apps, games, music, media, maps, messaging, sync, storage.

  • It launched in 2007, with Ovi Store and related services rolling out in 2009.

  • It aimed to give Nokia users a unified, multifunctional experience beyond simple mobile phones.

  • By 2011 Nokia phased out the “Ovi” brand; services were shuttered or rebranded, and the portal shut down.

  • Today ovi.com remains registered to Nokia — but the platform no longer functions as it once did.

FAQ

Q: Does ovi.com still work for Nokia apps or email?
No. The original Ovi platform has been discontinued. The “Ovi” branding was retired around 2011, and the suite of services under it (store, mail, share, files) were shut down or replaced.

Q: Why did Nokia create Ovi in the first place?
Nokia aimed to expand beyond hardware into services — bundling music, media, maps, messages, apps, storage under one brand. It was a way to offer a richer digital experience to its users, particularly on feature phones and early smartphones, and to compete with emerging smartphone ecosystems.

Q: What kind of services did Ovi include?
Ovi included a digital storefront (Ovi Store) for apps, games, media; music store; email (Ovi Mail); phone-to-PC sync and backup (Ovi Suite, Ovi Sync); file storage/sharing; maps and mapping APIs (Ovi Maps); media sharing (photos/videos).

Q: Could Ovi be used on non-Nokia devices?
Primarily Ovi was designed for Nokia devices (feature phones / Symbian / Series 40 / S60). Some parts (like web services) might have been accessible via a browser/PC, but the full integrated experience was focused on Nokia hardware.

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