Recently in Joburg, Nokia launched the long awaited Nokia N97 and the Nokia N86 8MP plus the South African Ovi Store (Nokia’s App Store)

Here is their press release for the Ovi Store in Sa:

Customers can now visit store.ovi.com through their Nokia device browser, or via PC, to immediately begin downloading, personalising and making their Nokia devices smarter and more fun with applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services and much more.

“Ovi Store is now open for business in South Africa and we’ve stocked the shelves with content for a broad range of Nokia devices,” continued Jarvis. “We are working with local outlets to provide a variety of local applications, and once we have viable entries from our ‘Calling All Innovators’ competition, we will be in a strong position to offer local South African content on the store.”

Ovi Store is an evolving media service that consolidates Nokia’s existing content services into a one-stop-shop for free and paid content. Thousands of the content industry’s biggest names along with independent application developers are distributing their media, applications and games through Ovi Store. The content will range from applications, games and videos to widgets, podcasts, location-based applications and personalisation content for Nokia Series 40 and Series 60 devices.

Customers can update their devices with the Ovi Store mobile application by selecting the Ovi Store icon in the Download! folder on their device. The Nokia N97 will be the first device to include the simple and easy-to-use storefront.

The Nokia N97: Your ultimate personal Internet computer

Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5″ touch display that can be fully personalised with frequently updated widgets, and a full QWERTY keyboard. With both a physical and visual touch input, the Nokia N97 is easily used for blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.

The Nokia N97 introduces the concept of ‘social location’. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 intuitively understands where it is. The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their ‘status’ and share their ‘social location’ as well as related pictures or videos.

The Nokia N86 8MP: Capture your life in more detail

When Nokia set out to make the best mobile imaging device, it combined wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics and an 8 megapixel sensor, resulting in performance comparable to a stand-alone digital camera. The Nokia N86 8MP is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions and is optimized for both video and still imaging. Its high-speed connectivity ensures easy and convenient sharing.

“People demand mobile cameras that take excellent pictures in all light conditions,” continues Nalappan. “That’s why the aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera. Whether it’s running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunset over Signal Hill in Cape Town, the Nokia N86 8MP will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr.”

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP both offer full integration with Nokia’s services outlet, Ovi.com. Users are able back up and edit contacts and calendars through Ovi Sync, access files from any location using Ovi Files, share content through Ovi Share, download Nokia Maps, stay in touch using Ovi Mail and browse the newly launched application store, Ovi Store. In addition, both devices offer quick access to the Nokia Music Store and Ngage platforms ensuring 24 hour entertainment.

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP will be available in South Africa from July 2009 at an estimated retail price of R7,999.00 and R6,999.00 respectively.