Nokia Ovi services renamed, as maps, email and app store get a make-Ovi

Hey now, hey Nokia, don't dream it's Ovi... Yes, our pun sense is a-tingling at the news that Ovi is over. Nokia is changing the name of its apps, media and software services, rebranding its app store, maps, email and more. The new name? Nokia.

Ovi services such as Ovi Maps and Ovi Mail will be called simply Nokia Maps and Nokia Mail. We have plenty of puns to get out of our system before the change happens, so you'll just have to get Ovi it.

The rebranding is part of the troubled Finnish giant's attempts to clean house. Although the biggest phone manufacturer in the world in terms of numbers, Nokia is losing ground in many markets and is dead nowhere in the increasingly lucrative smart-phone market.

Nokia recently shed 7,000 jobsand opted to power its upcoming smart phones with Windows Phone 7, which is a big step in the right direction after the much-maligned Symbian software failed to compete with Google's Android or Apple's iOS software for the iPhone.

One flew Ovi the Nokia's nest

The dropping of Ovi is designed to streamline the Nokia brand in the perception of customers, who need to be won over from rivals. Nokia says this is a name change and no more, with no plans to change any actual phones or services.

A Nokia marketing wonk has stated that "by centralising our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia". Ooh, very dominant.

Now we may just be cynical, but we seem to remember that, back in 2008, Nokia's services were brought together under the Ovi name to centralise the services' identity under one brand. But we digress.

Ain't over 'til it's Ovi

Since Ovi launched, it seems the prevailing trend is for online services and software to do what they say on the tin. Only the other day, we reported on the trademark battle between Apple and competitors over the term 'app store'. The iTunes App Store, Android Market, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry World and Amazon Appstore all eschew a fancy name for a simpler description. What name Nokia will give its app outlet remains to be seen. 

Is this a bridge Ovi troubled water, or are you glad it's all Ovi? Are you head Ovi heels or are the dog days Ovi? Tell us your latest Nokia thoughts in the comments section below. Right, we're done here -- Ovi and out.