Verizon Apps takes second shot at carrier store

Verizon on Tuesday hoped to return to the days of controlling app distribution with the relaunch of its native app store. Now just called Verizon Apps, the store will drop the BlackBerry and focus solely on Android. The store is now being pitched as a way for developers to get exposure without the discovery problems of Android Market.

Chomp will run the search engine for the new store.

The carrier launched V Cast Apps in 2010 in what was considered by many to be an attempt to return to the carrier's heyday of the early 2000s, when Verizon and others could dictate what apps users were allowed to see and use. Android Market, BlackBerry App World, and the iPhone's App Store began putting control back in the hands of phone designers and users. Verizon's initial model of having a full alternative to official stores struggled as it often ended up being just a small subset of a larger store.

Third-party app stores have typically struggled to get any recognition, even with better deals. Outside of giveaways from the Amazon Appstore and Getjar, most Android and BlackBerry stores have little use out of obscurity and security concerns. Verizon hasn't had the option of affecting the iPhone due to Apple's policies on outside stores but yet has had some of its greatest success with the device, greatly outselling Android devices on the same network.

By Electronista Staff