GigaOM broke the news that Verizon plans to open its own app store for all the smartphones on its network. The Verizon store will carry apps for the RIM BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, as the carrier currently sells phones from both of those handset makers. Verizon is expected to carry Android phones and the Palm Pre eventually, so those platforms would likely get covered in the Verizon store, too. The carrier feels that the inclusion of its app store on all of the handsets it carries will make it easier for customers to find the apps they need, but I have to ask, why?
Those smartphone platforms already have their own app stores, which makes perfect sense. What could be easier for BlackBerry owners than to visit the BlackBerry App World to find a needed program? The App World is the only place to find the BlackBerry apps after all — at least it used to be. Now Verizon BlackBerry owners will have to visit the Verizon store, which will be stocked with apps for all of the covered platforms. That means that developers of BlackBerry apps will have to get their program certified for sale and admitted to two different app stores. Want to bet they don’t all do that?
Verizon told GigaOM that the platform app stores will not be installed on handsets sold by Verizon — only the carrier’s store will be installed. That means that customers may not see all available applications for a given platform, only the ones submitted to the Verizon store. Sure, it said that customers can download and install the original app store themselves if they wish. Talk about confusing; customers who do that will then have two app stores on the phone that they must check. While some will like that apps purchased from the Verizon store are billed to their phone account, others won’t mind paying for apps the way they always have. The convenience is overshadowed by the clumsiness the second app store inserts into the process.
Long term, Verizon customers who purchase phone apps through the new app store will find they are locked into the carrier. Let’s say the BlackBerry owner buys an app from the Verizon app store. Down the road, the customer switches carriers. Now he can’t prove he owns the app purchased through Verizon — they have been removed from the picture. He may have to purchase the app again through the “official” platform app store, just to prove ownership.
Developers don’t seem to gain much from the Verizon app store on the surface. They are already submitting their programs to the platform app store for sale. That won’t change if they want to reach every customer on that platform. Having a second Verizon store doesn’t broaden their market; it only represents a fraction of said market. It’s not clear what will drive them to want their program available in the Verizon app store. If customers don’t get much benefit, and developers don’t seem to either, who wins? It sounds like only Verizon.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/07\/14\/verizon-to-open-app-store-nobody-wins\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_a0ac5db455a732e2c7e56c55a7a2fb34","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}