Nokia to set up store for phone apps, ring tones

BARCELONA, Spain -- Nokia Corp. is launching a new service that will sell applications, ring tones and other content for its cell phones, giving it a more unified front against similar platforms run by Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

The new Ovi Store will be similar to Apple's "App Store" for the iPhone and Google's software marketplace for Android phones, but will extend the concept by also selling other downloads like background images and videos.

The store will open in May and will be accessible to about 50 million existing mid- to high-end Nokia phones through a software upgrade, said George Linardos, vice president of marketing for Nokia's media division. The new flagship N97 phone, which comes out in June, will be the first phone to support the store out of the box.

Nokia was making the announcement Monday at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

The Ovi Store combines the features of several existing Nokia stores: MOSH, which was introduced in 2007 but is still in beta; Download!, which sells applications for download to a computer and subsequent transfer to a phone; and WidSets, which provides "widgets" with limited functions.

Music won't be available through the Ovi Store. The Nokia Music Store will continue to be separate, Linardos said.

Many carriers run their own services for selling ring tones, games and other cell phone add-ons. The Ovi Store will work in conjunction with some carriers, with charges appearing on the buyer's cell phone bill. Users will also be able to pay by credit card. The creators of the content will get 70 percent of the revenue, Linardos said.

Glu Mobile, a maker of games for cell phones, and social-networking site MySpace plan to sell applications through the store.