Ryan Kim reports that BlackBerry has opened Mobile App World, a new mobile storefront for BlackBerry programs that will compete head to head with Apple's App Store. Nokia throws open the doors to its
Ovi Store next month, while Palm will begin selling apps with the release of the Palm Pre sometime in the first half of this year. Microsoft plans to start Marketplace for Mobile with apps for Windows
phones later this year. And Google started selling applications in February at its Android Market.
Catching Apple will be a challenge. Since opening in July, its iPhone App Store has
registered more than 800 million downloads and boasts 25,000 apps. Google's Android Market, available since October on the G-1 in the United States, has 2,300 apps. But the contenders are keying in on
different approaches.
BlackBerry is reminding people about its ability to support both business and consumer clients. Nokia is highlighting Ovi Store's more personal and
recommendation-based system for consumers and its scale overseas for developers. Google talks up its open-source environment and its easy approval process for developers.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at San Francisco Chronicle »