The naked app
With mobile commerce expected to be a key commercial platform as the mobile Internet gains momentum, all stakeholders are desperate to stake their claim in this turf war.
The app store phenomenon was pioneered by Apple on the iPhone, but the likes of Nokia - with Ovi - and Google via Android have been quick to join the party and the phone operators, in the form of T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone have all made their move. Now Orange has finally unveiled its proposition, called Application Shop.
The proposition looks pretty familiar: ‘one-click' access to a bunch of apps, services and entertainment, with the advantage of being able to just stick the cost of the app, assuming there is one, onto your Orange bill instead of having to get your credit card out there and then.
The initial availability will be just in the UK and France, with a further roll-out in 2010. The appeal to developers is, of course, multi-platform access to all Orange customers. However, it's likely to have to coexist with competing app stores on the same handset, not we're not sure how satisfactory a user experience that will be.
Yves Tyrode, EVP of Orange Technocentre said: "Whether it's a smartphone user, or someone using a simpler device, we know the demand for content is there - it's just about getting that experience right. That is why we want to give everyone with a phone in their hand the easiest access to personal content, on the most suitable device and tariff, to help them take the parts of the mobile Internet that they know and love, everywhere they go."
Here are the launch devices:
- Nokia 6303
- Nokia 6700
- Sony Ericsson C510
- Sony Ericsson C905
- Sony Ericsson W595
- Sony Ericsson W910i
- Sony Ericsson W995
- Sony Ericsson Yari
