Nokia signing Symbian apps goes free

For Ovi Publishers creating Symbian apps there are initial investment costs such as obtaining a Publisher ID and paying a third party to have their apps Symbian Signed. Currently, this can take around four weeks, and impose expenses for the developer up to $215 (USD). Starting on August 16, Nokia are offering to Ovi Publishers to sign their Symbian apps for free, thus reducing the time for Ovi Publishers to two weeks and bring the cost involved to $0 (USD). Apps written with Qt, Symbian C++, and Flash Lite are supported.

For those Ovi Publishers that do participate, here’s a quick summary of the steps involved:

1. Ovi Publisher emails publisher support and requests more details
2. Ovi Publish support asks publisher to review and accept new terms and conditions
3. Ovi Publisher accepts and signs the new terms and conditions and provides IMEI numbers for up to 5 devices to publisher support
4. Ovi Publish support sends publisher UIDs, a cert installer, and developer cert/key pair for testing their app
5. Ovi Publisher packages their unsigned SIS file using the UID provided and tests on their device making sure is tested against Symbian Signed test criteria
6. Ovi Publisher submits their app (unsigned SIS file with the UID provided) to the intake tool
7. QA will test the app based on Nokia content and store guideline, specific operator guideline and Symbian Signed test criteria. If it passes, it will be express signed by Nokia and publish into Ovi Store