Nokia teams up with Three on the Ovi Store

FINNISH PHONE MAKER Nokia has announced a partnership with UK mobile operator Three to offer customers the convenience of paying for apps on their monthly bill.

In what Three is hyping to be a UK first, customers of Nokia's Ovi Store can avoid the premium rate SMS service or third party financial service fees to pay for apps. Paid for apps can now appear on your monthly mobile phone bill.

Conor Pierce, GM at Nokia said, "We are extremely pleased to be able to provide operators an easy and flexible way in which to both differentiate themselves in the market place as well as providing a unique and targeted offering to their consumers. We are delighted to be supporting Three with this concept through the Ovi Store."

The dedicated Three branded 'Three Likes' page will offer a choice of 40 recommended apps for Nokia phones. Three said, "Three will recommend different apps every week with a focus on those that offer the latest in entertainment and gaming or those that deliver navigation aids or help customers save time and money."

The X7 that Nokia launched this week will be its first handset to have the new Ovi Store service. Other Nokia devices such as the C7, E7 and N8 will also be getting the service but we're waiting to find out from Three exactly when.

You do require the latest version of Symbian for the service to work, so not all Nokia phones will be eligible for it.

This type of thing has been around before and Three already offers the same service to its customers on other operating systems, as do other mobile operators. The service will be available on pay as you go plans as well as monthly contracts. µ