Samsung gets in on the app store game
Samsung is joining the growing number of firms offering an app store to handset owners. However, it’s European only for now and it’s questionable if the firm will ever bring it to the U.S. market.
The store launches on Sept. 14 in the U.K., France and Italy, with most other European countries added in the next few months. The service will get its first demonstration at a German mobile industry convention next week. The company says it has 300 applications set for the launch, growing to 2,000 by the end of the year.
The store appears to offer a pretty limited audience for developers. At launch the system will be compatible with the Omnia and Omnia HD handsets, with the OmniaII and OmniaLite scheduled to be added later on. Once the service launches at www.samsungapps.com (currently a holding page), handset owners will need to install a free software update to use the store.
The store will work over both Wi-Fi and phone network connections and will automatically configure itself to only show apps which are compatible with the user’s particular handset. Apps will be manageable both on the phone itself and through a connected PC once the relevant software is installed.
Unlike most of the major players, this app store differs in that it’s from a hardware-only company. Aside from the Symbian-based HD model, the Omnias all run Windows Mobile.
With Microsoft set to launch its own app store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, in the US by the end of the year, there doesn’t seem any real demand for a Samsung-specific store. It will likely get a few months head start in Europe, but it seems inevitable Microsoft will extend operations across the Atlantic sooner than later. At that point, with more apps on offer for customers and more customers available to developers, it’s hard to see Samsung’s system competing.
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