Back in 2008, I was using a Nokia service called WidSets to provide access to the content of this blog from mobile phones. When Nokia's application store Ovi was announced, WidSets was actually discontinued and was "evolved" into Ovi Store. Until recently, evolved actually meant disappeared. Ovi did not provide the same easy and quick content publishing to content owners that WidSets provided. A few days ago, Ovi started a new service called Ovi App wizard. It is an online service that allows you to turn the RSS feed of your content into an Ovi App. After the usual Ovi store approval process it becomes available to the Nokia devices via Ovi store.
I was a big fan of WidSets and I was looking for a replacement for it ever since it discontinued, so I did immediately tried to create an App. Ovi App wizard allows you to define up to 4 feeds, a logo and an icon for your application. I have actually used my blog, twitter and slideshare feeds. The whole process of creation took about 20 minutes to complete and most of it was about creating a proper icon for the app. Currently, I am waiting for approval for it to become available on the Ovi store (approval is supposed to take a day or so ).
I am sure that some will claim that this service is just about Nokia trying to boost the number of applications on Ovi store. I personally think this is more about making the Nokia devices the preferred device to consume web 2.0 content. Considering that iPhone is the device choice for consuming web, this service, even if it has no chance of matching iPhone, is not a bad move on the behalf of Nokia.
If you are a content owner, like myself, this is another channel to distribute your content (you want to reach more people right?). And preparing your content for this channel costs nothing, not even a significant amount of your time..
