• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 3, 2009

AT&T Thursday announced a new program that lets developers test new mobile applications with the wireless operator's customers before releasing them widely.

Under AT&T's Apps Beta program, developers will be able to try out applications with subscribers for four to six weeks, getting feedback including ratings, feature suggestions and reports on any bugs. Developers can also get input on apps that have already hit the retail market.

Apps that fare especially well in testing may be sold through AT&T's Media Mall store, which offers some 90,000 pieces of content including ringtones, videos, games, graphics and other items. Popular apps would also get greater promotional support through featured placement on AT&T's mobile portal or other venues.

AT&T customers with unlimited data plans and compatible handsets will be able to preview applications for free. The wireless carrier said it plans to promote the program to subscribers in the coming weeks.

"We hope that by facilitating this level of collaboration between the developer community and early adopters, we'll see even more innovation as developers gain valuable customer insights that will ultimately benefit their long-term application development and marketing strategies," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.

The popularity of Apple's App Store has shown AT&T and the other major carriers that consumers have a healthy appetite for mobile applications beyond ringtones. As the exclusive U.S. service provider for the iPhone, AT&T is well aware of the more than 850 million downloads from the App Store -- the proceeds of which it doesn't see a dime.

In a recent report on mobile advertising, Lauren Rich Fine, director of research for ContentNextMedia, highlighted the loss of control that carriers are experiencing. "Consumers are demanding more than what AT&T and Verizon want to give them and now want to directly access what developers are willing to provide," she wrote.

By catering to the 20,000 developers in its devCentral program with the Apps Beta plan, AT&T aims to keep its developers happy as well as to help generate promising apps. "So AT&T stirs some innovation amongst developers, gives some of its customers access to new applications (albeit as beta testers at the start), and steals some thunder from other app stores," said Neil Strother, an analyst at Forrester Research.

He added that the Apps Beta effort could help AT&T identify popular apps early if they elicit enough interest among customers. That in turn would encourage developers to work more closely with AT&T to come up with hot apps.