The Nokia X is not an Android phone but, according to Nokia, it will run 75% of existing Android apps, without any modification. That means 75% can be published immediately to the Nokia Store. For the other 25% that require modification, it is usually down to the following missing Nokia X Software Platform APIs:
- Nokia In-App Purchase
- HERE Maps and;
- Nokia Push Notifications
If your app utilizes any of the corresponding Google APIs, chances are it falls in that 25%. But even if your app doesn’t use any of those APIs, it’s actually advisable you confirm, rather than assume. Besides, Nokia says it shouldn’t take developers more than 8 hours to make these modifications and port. Here’s 5 reasons why you might want to invest in those extra 8 hours
Publishing to the Nokia Store is free
Google requires developers to pay a $25 one-time registration fee before they can publish on the Google Play Store, even if it is a free app. Publishing to the Nokia Store attracts no registration fee.
It’s potentially more lucrative than Android
I would go over this again if I hadn’t already written about it earlier. Please read: Nokia In-App Payments To Go Live in Nigeria by Q2, with 70% Revenue Share for Devs
Global Market reach
Related to above; you don’t have to limit your market to only Nigeria, Nokia In-App Payment is seamless across the global market – 63 countries and over 160 MNOs. You never know, your biggest market could be from a town in Indonesia.
You don’t have to stop developing for Google Play Store
Google and Nokia services can coexist within the same APK, so you only have to develop once. Yes, development time may increase a little but get to push the same APK file to the different stores. Distribution control is likely a non-issue.
It’s a freaking Nokia
You can’t ignore this. At its price point, and among the target audience, the Nokia X is probably the most desirable. We heard about what happened in China. As a developer, you want to make sure that everyone user who downloads your app, on every possible platform, experiences it the way you intended, because first impressions matter.
We can’t say for sure how well the Nokia X will do in Nigeria but, just in case it does very well, you don’t want to miss out on the potential.
