Replicating the iPhone App Store is harder than it looks.
Verizon Wireless has found that out the hard way. It took roughly seven months for it to launch V Cast Apps on the first device, and now after an entire year since first announcing its intentions, it is extending to handful of more phones — but is still strictly limited to phones made by its first partner: Research In Motion.
A Verizon spokeswoman confirmed that it has always been the company’s plan to start with and then move to other platforms, like Android and Windows Mobile, but “it’s taken a bit longer than we anticipated to get this far. There were a lot of learnings along the way.”
It is still the plan for V, CAST Apps to extend to additional platforms, but there’s no timeframes to share.
Verizon says there’s benefits to developers working with the handset maker. V CAST Apps offers direct billing, meaning that customers get to charge apps directly to their monthly bill through a one-click process. Verizon also aims to offer developers more access to their phones than BlackBerry’s on other carriers, so that they can create a richer experience. Right now, it’s available for four BlackBerrys and will come to two additional ones in a couple of weeks. Verizon will send all those customers a icon over the air to give them access to the store.
It’s questionable how long Verizon will try to have a direct link with developers in such a competitive market. Not too long ago, Sprint partnered with GetJar, an independent app store, to gain access to a vast catalog of apps without having to do the heavy lifting. More recently, T-Mobile USA shut down a similar program that was trying to form relationships directly with developers, and instead is relying on third-party options like Android’s own Market.

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