Nokia's Ovi Store hits 2.3 million daily downloads

After almost a year and a half, Nokia's Ovi Store has built up enough momentum to hit 2.3 million daily downloads, the company announced today.

With the number of active Nokia phone customers at 140 million around the world, 200,000 users are now signing up at the Ovi Store on a daily basis, Nokia noted.

Among the developers and publishers who create the mobile apps, 70 of them have gone past 1 million downloads. It's a list that includes Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Indiagames, PepsiCo, HeroCraft, and Offscreen Technologies. HeroCraft's Farm Frenzy game has enjoyed more than 10 million downloads, according to Nokia, while Offscreen's touch-screen apps have taken home more than 45 million downloads.

Launched in May 2009, the Ovi Store was designed to be Nokia's answer to Apple's App Store. But Nokia's app store has received some dings for its lack of user friendliness. The company just revamped the look and feel of the Ovi Store, initially seen only through the new N8 smartphone and then rolling out to other Symbian smartphones. The new store promises a friendlier experience and easier ways to track down content.

The Ovi Store has also typically lacked the wealth and depth of apps found in Apple's App Store and even Google's Android Market. One problem is that developers have been more keen to create mobile apps for the lucrative iPhone and Android platforms. To counter that, Nokia has been providing developers with new tools and benefits, improved revenue sharing, better analytics, and easier ways for users to buy their apps.

Another problem is that Nokia has focused on its global business at the expense of the U.S. and North American markets. To attract more developers and reach out to this market all in one shot, Nokia recently announced a $10 million contest to encourage developers to create apps specifically for customers in North America.