Updated: Hey if carriers aren’t shying away from starting “app stores,” then why should Sony Ericsson (s sne) (s ericy)? The company today announced plans to sell applications through its PlayNow service — which has so far been used to sell mobile content — in 13 different countries for use on 38 Sony Ericsson phone models, with support for more devices to come later. Sony Ericsson has taken a pragmatic approach to its app store. Instead of forcing developers to support yet another platform, Sony Ericsson’s app store will initially accept Java and Symbian OS applications and later support other platforms. Update: According to this press release, GetJar, an indie mobile app seller, is going to be providing apps for Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow service. (Related GigaOM Pro Research: Will Google Lead the Way in Mobile App Innovation?)
Interesting that they will only support Symbian and Java and not Windows Mobile native apps. Hopefully that is on their roadmap as many would consider the X1, a Windows Mobile device, to be their premier smartphone. Indeed, wasn’t the X1 positioned as an “iPhone Killer”?
FWIW it looks like the URL http://www.submit.sonyericsson.com may not be live yet, at least that is what openDNS seems to believe.
Yes, it will be very interesting to watch the various app stores that are launching this year. The windows marketplace for mobile is highly anticipated by users and developers too. I think this will be huge for the millions of windows mobile users.
All of this”app store” fragmentation favors Apple.
Why not Sony Ericsson? How about because:
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