Nokia said that “consumers are downloading 6 million mobile apps and content each day” from its Ovi Store, which now has a catalogue of more than 48,000 products available. While much of the emphasis has been on smartphone apps, it was also noted that “Series 40 devices, which will enable apps for the next billion mobile phone users, have experienced more than 35 percent growth in download volumes in the last two months, making up about a quarter of the total downloads.” The company also said that more than 170 developers had each exceeded 1 million downloads from Ovi Store.

Last year, Nokia said that 70 percent of its download total was apps, with the additional 30 percent being made up of other content products. Using this measure, this means the 6 million downloads equates to 4.2 million app transactions per day. However, the company has not updated this guidance for more than six months, and in line with market trends it is certainly likely that app sales are growing faster than other content purchases.

The total of 48,000 products available means that Nokia remains ahead of RIM and Microsoft in the app store race, although it is still some way behind Google’s Android Market and Apple’s App Store. Again, Nokia has not stated how much of its total is apps and how much comprises other content products. It’s also worth noting that Nokia’s application and content store will eventually be integrated into Microsoft’s Marketplace store as part of Nokia’s WP7 platform deal with the software giant.

According to Nokia, 15 companies had total downloads in the 10–20 million range, with 5 in the 20–30 million bracket, and one, Offscreen Technologies, having more than 72 million total downloads. It said that nearly 1,000 apps are being added each week.

Nokia also said that the number of operators supporting Ovi Store operator billing is “growing at a steady pace, too,” now being supported by 121 operators across 42 countries. Recent additions include Claro in Chile; Vodafone in Portugal; CSL, 3, SmartTone-Vodafone, PCCW and China Mobile in Hong Kong; and Etisalat in the UAE. It notes that Ovi Store is available in more than 190 countries and 30 languages, with more than 90 percent of all store customers downloading apps in their own language.

Nokia recently indicated it is set to take its Qt app development tools to its Series 40 platform, to give developers a way to address both Symbian OS smartphones and mass-market feature phones. The company said that Qt developers can already target 100 million Nokia devices with their apps, with the company also intending to ship 150 million Symbian smartphones in the future which will support this technology. Qt is also supported by Nokia’s first (and possibly only) Meego-powered device, the N9.