Notices

For a while I have been frustrated by the OVI store while abroad. There are some paid applications only available from the OVI store and one in particular (currency converter that increases the supported currencies to 170) I wanted while abroad. However the OVI store only allows credit cards to be used when you're in the country registered to their billing address, which means basically that you can't buy anything on the OVI store for the N900 while abroad, since credit cards are the only form of payment (for the N900 - for other phones, e.g. the N8, you can get the charge billed to your local phone account, though this only works if you actually have a local SIM card and doesn't work with all SIMs). If you try to purchase an application, it will give you an error as if your card has been declined, but in fact the OVI service never even gets as far as trying to charge your card, it simply blocks all transactions that are not originating from the same country registered to the credit card billing address. (And if you look at their TOS, you'll see this blocking explicitly mentioned there.)

I finally found a solution. You need to have a VPN account that supports OpenVPN and gives you an IP address in the same country that your credit card is billed to. Install OpenVPN and OpenVPN GUI and set up and log in to your VPN account (I use hideipvpn which is good for the US, UK, Germany, and Denmark, but which is not free unfortunately, though it is cheap). Then when you go to the OVI store it will think you are in the same country as your credit card and you will be able to purchase and download applications. Yes it violates the TOS but who cares.

Given that this is supposed to be a security feature of the OVI store, one which by the way I haven't seen on any other online store, and given it is this easy to circumvent (once you know how), isn't it a rather dumb security feature that just ends up inconveniencing a lot of bona fide Nokia users and preventing sales?

It is the same for manu US eTailers too, Newegg for example - only Paypal with registered address possible. Too funny if registered address is in Germany (my home), but shipping address in the US (our office there). That is, if you already came over the obstacle that they let you only order from US-based IP adresses (i asked them, it's in their T&C.) So much for global trade... for consumers. Its not easy to order something which is only shipped to US continental/available here anyway and bring it to Europe that way.

Happened today again. They (Finishline) canceled my order (after 5 friggin' days!) because i used a German credit card, so they couldn't "check" if it was a legit use of said card. That's in, checking if the stated billing address is the same as the billing address for the card. Of course it was not, because www.finishline.com doesn't allow entering non-US addresses. Obviously, using three- or four-digit card verification number only is not common in US of A., as it is for almost all over Europe.

PayPal is not an option too, because they ship only to PayPal-verified addresses according to their customer service. Try to add any US-based address to an German-based PayPal-account even if they could mail or call you at said address... not possible.

Man, i friggin' hate all this crap. It took me one and a half hour (or my complete lunch break) and 22 miles to drive to a store and back. Let the guys there order my shoes, paid with the same card that was rejected by same company's online store, could choose between shipping to my (of course previously rejected online) office address here, and the store itself for pickup. Choose the latter. Gave them my email (same as for the online order), got the receipt, walked out, they did not even wanted to see any ID / proof of being the legit card holder.

It cost me additional $26 for expedited / express shipping too, because i already lost 5 days now caused by the *****s in Authorization department, (and i'm leaving this Sunday) to still being able to pick up everything in time.

Man, quite often now i hate the restrictiveness of the US... shopping here is too often way too complicated / restricted.

/ bigmotherfriggin'rantofyeroldeUSandtheirincompeten cyinretail