Nokia adds synch to Ovi: Hopes to lure users with basic tools

SAN FRANCISCO — Nokia Corp.’s Ovi conjures images of cutting-edge mobile services that run the gamut from entertainment to navigation to social communities. But the success of the ambitious concept may hinge on much simpler — and stickier — features.
The mobile behemoth this week added a synch feature to its everything-mobile offering, allowing users to update contact and calendar information between the PC and the phone with a cloud-type service that also serves as a data backup. The free service is supported by 75 Series 40 and 60 handsets, and — unlike some other offerings — synchs upon command rather than automatically.
“We’re making it really easy for those who use their mobile phone to access information to manage that information, easily synch it and back it up to the Internet,” said Lenn Pryor, Nokia’s VP of services and software. “This doesn’t replace (Microsoft) Exchange or Web-based PIM. This is really intended for users who use their device as the primary place to store their information.”
Carriers and third-party companies have long offered backup services to consumers for a few dollars a month, and cloud-based offerings such as Apple’s MobileMe target users looking to access a deeper pool of information from both PCs and phones. But Nokia hopes to lure less-demanding consumers, using synch and other basic tools to get them familiar with Ovi and its premium offerings.
That strategy could prove effective in raising Ovi’s profile among mass-market users, according to CCS Insight, a U.K.-based market research firm.
“We believe Nokia’s latest addition to Ovi – contact synchronization – could be the key to unlocking consumer interest in its service platform,” CCS wrote last week. “Even for the most basic user, the contents of the contact directory are one of their most valued possessions. It is not uncommon to hear people saying they are more upset about losing numbers stored on a stolen or lost phone than the loss of the hardware itself.”
Ovi’s synch feature doesn’t have the muscle of MobileMe, but that fact may help Nokia sidestep some of the problems that have plagued Apple’s cloud-based offering since its launch several weeks ago. MobileMe sparked a flurry of criticism on blogs and message boards when early glitches prevented users from logging on to their accounts or synching properly, spurring Apple to provide a free 30-day extension of the $99-a-year service. Such vulnerabilities have led some to conclude that while the cloud may be a tolerable place for consumers to keep basic contact information, it is still too risky for use in the enterprise.
“So far things are performing fine, but it’s not a large group of (users) right now,” Pryor said of Nokia’s cloud. “We feel pretty confident, but of course software is an unpredictable and living thing. I’m never going to jinx myself and say it’s never going to fall over, never going to have a glitch.”
But the company will have to make Ovi simpler if mainstream consumers are going to become regular users, according to CCS Insight.
“For this approach to work, Nokia needs to make it as simple as possible for people to synchronize their phone contacts with Ovi.com,” the firm wrote. “Unfortunately, the configuration process is likely to prove daunting to most basic mobile-phone users. On our last visit, the sign-up process had a few glitches, and the site lacked an obvious way to log in before accessing services. . Simple exploration is essential to creating loyal customers of a combined Nokia phone and Ovi experience.”
Nokia also said it is expanding its device support for Exchange ActiveSync to all third-edition S60 devices, saying 43 handset models will now offer the Mail for Exchange application. The application will be embedded on future Eseries and Nseries phones, the company said.