Microsoft and Qualcomm up stakes in flexible app stores
Published: 19 May, 2009
READ MORE: Qualcomm | App Store | Microsoft
The politics of the mobile application store continue to heat up, with operators, device makers and software houses vying for the upper hand in the value chain. Microsoft has made a surprise move to put its forthcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile in pole position, while Qualcomm is taking its usual role as the operators' friend, extending its Plaza platform to help cellcos create multi-OS stores.
Microsoft said it would allow Windows Mobile 6.5 handset users to run applications on more than one phone, so that programs could be shared among up to five friends or family members at the same time. Customers will also be able to get a refund on any app within 24 hours of purchase, with no questions asked.
The Windows giant hopes such moves will make its store far more friendly to customers than the notoriously restrictive iPhone App Store - though the huge popularity of that 'unfriendly' systems shows that the choice of software and the device itself remain the key factors, and MS will be hard pressed to match Apple on those. And app sharing could be a deterrent to developers, eating into their revenues.
Microsoft will use its LiveID authentication system for tracking, claiming: "It will be very hard for the casual, semi-casual or semi-pro user to pirate apps."
Apple is likely to make limited moves towards sharing too though. The upcoming iPhone 3.0 is expected to allow users to switch more easily between App Store accounts, though it would still require them to share passwords if the devices belong to different people, and to register all the gadgets on which the software will run.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm has expanded its Plaza platform for content distribution and merchandising - under its growing Brew mobile software umbrella - to include Plaza Retail. This promises tools to enable cellcos to deliver a "uniform and intuitive application shopping experience that spans multiple operating systems". This supports many of the key methods that cellcos will use to differentiate themselves from the vendors' stores - making content
available across multiple retailers instantly, without tie-ins to specific devices or OSs. This means users can more easily change handsets without losing their paid-for apps.
Plaza Retail consists of three elements. Management Center is a merchandizing system supporting Java, Brew, Flash and BlackBerry, and with Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian and LiMo to follow. This handles pricing, licensing, packaging, promotions, placement, segmentation, personalization, delivery and analytics. The other modules are Connection, an automated open marketplace, and Storefront, a multi-platform client, web or WAP retail portal.
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