Yet Another App Store, This Time from Samsung

Okay, we've all heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this is getting a little out of hand. In a little over a week Samsungs phone app site will go live with around 1,100 applications.



In late October last year, Samsung announced plans to sponsor app development for the Symbian and Windows Mobile operating systems. They set up a developer site and tended their community of app programmers.

The additional functionality for Windows Mobile would be much appreciated worldwide, but there's a problem: it's only available in the UK. They will most likely move into other markets soon but haven't made any formal announcements to that effect yet.

So, application "stores" aren't a new thing. Handango has been around since 1999 marketing mobile apps to the masses. Of course, Apple moved mobile apps to the forefront of the collective consciousness in early July last year when they opened their App Store for the iPhone and in the six months since have reported more than half a BILLION downloads from an inventory of over 15,000 apps. (Yes, that's billion with a "B".)

Riding the coattails of that spectacular success, Google announced their Android Market and Research In Motion declared their intention to launch their own Application Storefront which should happen sometime in 2009. Even Microsoft has hopped on the bandwagon and is getting ready to open their mobile app store, code name: Skymarket. That doesn't take into consideration the smaller online sites like CrackBerry, Mobihand and Clickapps.

Since the smartphone has moved out of the realm of the business tool and emerged as an average consumer's mobile device of choice, apps are here to stay and fortunately we've got an overwhelming embarrassment of riches to choose from.

What's a consumer (and a developer) to do with market saturation like that? Let us help you wade through the mysteries of mobile apps and smartphones. And try some exceptionally clear blog posts to find more tech news:

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