Nokia Ovi App Store – Nokia‘s mobile application store, dubbed the Ovi Store, may have launched with a bang, but not in ways the company hoped for. Users are reporting a lack of applications, slow access and trouble signing in. There’s an Ovi for that? The store is supposed to make a splash simply by virtue of its reach, being accessible by 50 million devices in multiple languages and countries. I guess things went better than the company thought, because it’s blaming the opening day jitters on “extraordinarily high spikes of traffic.” That’s the problem with online stores: When something sells out in a physical store, it makes the product seem cool, but when demand wrecks a virtual outlet, it’s just obnoxious. [via Information Week]

Nokia has plans to add Skype functionality to two of its new smartphones, and carriers in the UK are none too happy about it. The idea is that if customers were able to make VoIP calls on their mobiles rather than traditional voice calls they would, thus driving down the profits the carriers make on voice plans. Currently AT&T allows Skype to be used on Apple’s iPhone here in the US, but it can only be used when the user is on a Wi-Fi connection, not using AT&T’s data services. T-Mobile also offers T-Mobile@Home that allows customers to make VoIP calls through their mobile phones while at home. Calls through that service automatically switch over to a voice plan when the user wanders out of the Wi-Fi area. O2 and Orange has threatened to not carry the Nokia phones unless they remove Skype functionality. What do you think, would having Skype on your phone make you reduce your traditional voice calls? [via Electronista]

Nokia and Samsung are still king and queen of the cell phone game, but LG has reason to celebrate after shipping the third-most handsets worldwide in 2008. Sales reached 100 million for LG last year, barely beating Motorola’s 99.9 million sales and 96.6 million sales by Sony Ericsson. Motorola’s slip from the top three isn’t earth-shattering news, seeing how Motorola has undergone several layoffs and was blasted by an analyst for releasing a “half-baked mess” of products last year. As for LG, it’s got a ways to go before catching up to the top two. Nokia and Samsung sold 400 million and 200 million phones, respectively, last year. [DigiTimes via Engadget]

Nokia is reportedly working on their own device to compete with the iPhone. The multi-touch device will supposedly have those gesture controls iPhone users are so fond of and (based on these pictures) look a whole lot like it’s now almost 2 year old Apple competitor. No name, release date, or additional information is available about the potential device, but we’ll keep you covered when it is. [via UberGizmo]

When the iPod starts getting stale and musical curiosity can’t be satisfied by FM, HD or satellite radio, sometimes its best to venture on to the Internet. The Nokia Home Music makes this easier by streaming online content or music from local computers via WiFi or Ethernet cable. This is a companion device to Nokia’s new N97 touchscreen phone, so presumably, you could use the 3G Internet capabilities of the phone to power the Home Music on the go. Failing that, the music player also includes USB and auxiliary jacks, plus a reliable old FM radio when there’s simply nothing else around. We’re still waiting for pricing and ship dates. [Nokia via Electronista]

Early this morning, Nokia revealed their brand-leading N97 mobile device, calling it the “world’s most advanced mobile computer”.  The N97 features a tilting 3.5″ touchscreen display, a QWERTY keypad and a personalized home screen.  The new Nokia will support up to 48GB of storage space (with 32GB standard), WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and a 5MP digital camera with a Carl Zeiss lens that’ll snap 30 fps video.  The “always open” home screen on the Nokia N97 allows users to personalize their device to show widgetized web elements like Facebook, news feeds and otherwise.  We’re impressed– round those features out and this is one pretty damn desirable little mobile.  [nokia]

How many times have you been out soaking up rays only to discover your favorite gadget is losing battery power? Rather than make you head in out of the sun for a recharge the iPower SX solar powered charger charges your gadgets for you outside using the power from the sun.

The device captures solar energy in a 2200mAh battery that once charged is said to be able to power an iPod for FIFTY hours. The iPower also claims to be able to charge the iPhone, most Nokia devices, some other mobile phones, portable gaming consoles, cameras, and MP3 players…so pretty much any small device that takes a battery is what is sounds like to us.  If you live in a hole, or hate going in the sun you can also charge the battery through the USB port on your computer, although that sort of defeats the purpose.  Get one now in the UK for around $62. [via Electronista]

Nokia‘s flagship, the N96 is getting a fancy Bruce Lee treatment. Though it doesn’t bring anything new under the hood, martial arts fans will surely enjoy the legendary Bruce Lee on the back of the phone along with his signature, an action figure and rare pictures of the actor that are being preloaded on its 16GB of built-in storage. Only available in China for some $1,300, the Bruce Lee N96 looks to be a pricey little collector’s item. [via Electronista]

Along with the Samsungs of the world, Nokia has entered the busy market of iPhone followers.  While we were skeptical when we first saw it, it turns out The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a pretty damn cool phone.  Its 3.2-inch touch screen sports a 640×360 resolution along with a 3.2MP camera on the other side (with a two LED flash).  Additionally, the 5800 includes GPS, WiFi, a microSD slot supporting up to 16GB, and best of all– the 5800 will ship totally UNLOCKED.  Suck on that, closed-market mobile makers… [nokia via engadget]