Mobile: Nokia is preparing to launch its "app" store with 20,000 items later this month to compete with Apple, RIM an Google

[forbes] Nokia is preparing an app store second in size only to Apple's.

Nokia is about to shake up the app store world.

The Finnish company is planning to roll out an online store for mobile applications later this month. Though Apple Research In Motion and Google already offer similar services, Nokia's launch promises to be the biggest app store opening yet and could re-shape the mobile applications market.

As the world's largest handset maker, Nokia is used to big launches. The store, which the company is calling Ovi Store after the Finnish word for "door," is no exception. Niklas Savander, Nokia's executive vice president of services, says it will debut with a catalog of 20,000 items. In comparison, Apple and RIM launched their stores with a few hundred apps; Google's opened with a few dozen.

Users can access the store two different ways. It will ship pre-loaded on the company's new flagship handset, the N97, before July, and be included in phones released in the future. Consumers who own other, recent Nokia phones will also be able to download the store from the Web onto their handsets. The idea: People will buy more Nokia devices if they are paired with great services.

The store is so large because Nokia is stocking it with a broader selection of digital content. The company says there will be lots of entertainment and media files, including an entire category of short videos and "mobisodes." The store's 20,000 items will be across all of these categories, not just apps.

Nokia's Gigantic App Store