LG formally opens new mobile app store
updated 05:25 pm EDT, Wed July 28, 2010
LG opens app store beta in 23 markets
After an initial release last year, LG has officially launched an updated mobile app store, albeit in beta, expanding it to 23 countries. Unfortunately, this doesn't include the North American market, but feature phone and smartphone users in markets such as Australia, India, South Africa and 20 other countries can now sign up and download from nearly 3,000 applications, or twice as many as initially promised. About half of these will be available for feature phones.
Later this year, LG will add Android applications and expand the library to more than 4,000 apps. There is currently a range of applications for Windows Mobile phones.
Explorations of the Australian store reveal that all apps are free to download. However, users are divided into Single, Double or Triple membership levels, with each successive level bringing with it access to additional apps. Activity points are earned by rating apps, sharing over e-mail or SNS, entering additional information or subscribing to RSS feeds.
New countries due to be added later this year will include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Iran, for a total of 33 markets. If or when US customers will get access to the LG app store remains to be seen.
