One of the biggest innovators of mobile gambling over the past few years has been PaddyPower. They were one of the first online bookmakers to win Apple's approval for a native bookmaker app, they introduced game recognition technology to their Premier League app and even released a Windows Phone app before anyone else. Although many mobile phone users now use either an iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Windows Phone devices, quiet a sizeable percentage of the population, particularly in developing countries, still use older Nokia type phones. To cater for this market, Paddy Power have developed a Nokia version of their sports betting app that can be downloaded from the Nokia Ovi App Store here http://store.ovi.com/content/198479 DOWNLOAD PADDY POWER NOKIA - WWW.PADDYPOWER.COM
do any of the other online bookmakers offers Nokia Ovi Store apps? i thought once Microsoft bought Nokia that these old phones and apps would be phased out in favor of windows phone devices and operating systems.
I think they will be phased out eventually but at the moment there are still a lot of older type Nokia phones in circulation, particularly in Africa, India and other emerging economies. Nokia will be keen to hold onto their market lead in these countries until they can develop Nokia Lumia smartphones that are cheap enough for those customers. Until then they need to provide a basic apps store to fight off the challenge of Android and Samsung in particular who are making inroads in Nigeria already.
If Nokia can keep producing low cost smartphones and retain even half of their current market share in Africa and India, I think Windows Phone could realistically gain 25% of the worldwide market. Considering they're taking on both Apple and Google/Samsung this would be quiet an achievement.
Windows Phone certainly does appear to be picking up momentum. It already outsells iPhone in 24 countries which has to be giving the guys at Apple a few sleepless nights. It's not entirely surprising given that Nokia have always had a large market share in the developing world but Nokia Lumia devices are now also outselling the iPhone is some European countries like Poland and Italy.
Now that Microsoft have bought the hardware division of Nokia, I wonder what they have planned for Windows Phone over the next few years. Microsoft simply have to make the Lumia brand more popular or they will never gain a foothold in the mobile marketplace. Over the next few years I predict they will practically be giving away Nokia Lumia smartphones and tablets in order to win over next customers. Mobile is the future and with less than 10% marketshare things aren't looking too rosy for the Microsoft Windows Phone mobile operating system right now.
can you still watch live horse racing from the browser app or do you need to install the version in the app store on itunes?
I think Nokia sold their smartphone division to Microsoft but they still produce old-school phones that are popular in developing countries like Africa.