Verizon's getting very keen on entering the
app store industry, but not without some rough decrees to its smartphone partners. According to
GigaOm, VP Partner Management Ryan Hughes said in an interview Friday that its shop will house content from all the major platforms under one roof, with purchases being billed through the customer's Verizon account and not requiring a separate signup / credit card entry. Convenient for consumers, and devs are also being promised a more streamlined approval process and a "competitive" revenue-sharing program, but here's where things take a turn for the worse: according to Hughes, non-VZW app stores like BlackBerry
App World or
Windows Mobile Marketplace won't be bundled with the smartphones out of the box, meaning consumers will have to take the initiative to download those portals for themselves. An incredibly jerk move, and an extra burden on developers who'll be having to submit two approval applications if they want inclusion on Verizon's own store. Of course, that large subscriber base is the reason it can get away with it, but let's hope we hear some better justifications other than "because we can" when the full details are rolled out at the Verizon Developer Community Conference on July 28th.
posted Jul 13th 2009 8:23PM
I think users in the know such as those of us who frequent mobile tech sites like this will find a way to get the apps we need/want even if it means typing in a specific URL.
Why is VZW doing this? Simple. They make more $$$ when people buy their apps and therefore their apps go to the front of the line.
I really don't care since I don't use VZW but I'm not sure why their business practices are newsworthy or a surprise to anyone? They've been doing this with their BREW enabled handsets for years and with the growing popularity of smartphones they feel they need a piece of the action here too.
VZW recently did this with the Blackberry storm update. In a way it doesn't matter because any smart phone from VZW requires you to have unlimited data. But I feel for the consumer that doesn't do research because they'll be the only ones hurt in this...
I was all excited when someone hacked the palm pre onto VZW but they found the straw that broke this camel's back. I am sick of verizon doing what they want to put money in their pockets. Screw them, i am switching to Sprint
Holy stinky monkey balls, just when I thought vzw couldn't suck anymore... This is the worst. I'm glad I left and I will never ever go back. I use to work for them back in college and had to hear all
the rah rah speeches. But they are just plain awfull
Wow--can Verizon lay down the gauntlet even more? So much for being more free and "Open Access"...
C.R.E.A.M.
dolla dolla bill y'all.
Stop fighting gravity and just admit that you're a dumb pipe, because that's what the market wants and you'll have greater success if you embrace it.
Does this mean that an iPhone will NEVER be on Verizon? You're not going to be running Verizon certified apps on there without Apple giving Verizon the keys to sign the apps (Verizon would have to pay big money for that, so even if it did happen, apps would be more expensive and less selection on Verizon, exactly the opposite of value to end users). Unfortunately, the other OS makers (especially Microsoft) would probably let Verizon do anything they want to customize phones including removing links and apps and locking the phones so only Verizon apps will run.
And this is the straw that breaks the camel's back. The ONLY reason left to stay with VZW at this point is for the network, and where I live, it's not all that much better than the others. As soon as my contract ends, my relationship with VZW is history.
The fact that is is happening is by no means a surprise, but it further proves the fact that VZW couldn't give a damn about customers. Even though I'm perfectly capable of obtaining the proper app stores myself, my principles tell me that I should not have to. This is absolute absurdity at its finest. Awesome VZW, awesome! F-ing morons...
Evil empire Strikes again!
This along with all the other ways VZW limits their phones!!!
This just truly shows why apple passed on them and took AT&T's bid, so glad I have my nice iPhone 3g & left Verizon a year ago, and no crappy carrier installed crap!
Verizon is a jerk when it comes to wanting absolute control over apps on their phones, but I am surprised they didn't block the other app stores completely. Sure, it kinda sucks that you have to go and download the other app stores, but at least you can do it if you want to.
I left Verizon because I hated their phones. I still hate their phones, but I can see they are slowly changing with the times, and I do mean slowly.
That seems quite odd seeing as though the just released Tour HAS BLACKBERRY APP WORLD PRE-INSTALLED OUT OF THE BOX.
This was a FORWARD STATEMENT by Verizon, genius. Able to connect the dots yet?
Verizon is allowing phone makers apps on there phones, we just have to download them which isn't hard to do... All you do is get on your browser on your phone and download it...
vzw is like your your girlfriends bff..... a C...BLOCKER!!!! and the sad thing is i'm vzw customer they have good service in nyc
Wait, does any other carrier have an app store?
If not, shouldn't this be considered a good thing for Verizon users?
The way I see it is:
ONLY Blackberry phones get Blackberry App World.
ONLY Windows Smartphones get Windows Mobile Marketplace.
ONLY iPhone (& iPod Touch) get Apple App Store.
So I think its smart to have an app store for a regular phone that doesn't require customers to spend a bunch of money on a expensive device or a costly monthly data plan to get this feature.
Yeah they probably won't have as much apps or they might not be addictive as some 99 cent
flavor of the week app, but that doesn't mean people won't use them!
I don't see why this has something to do with limiting their phones capabilities...seriously!
I DO however think they should unlock more of their GPS-capable devices, bluetooth, & have more phones with wifi! But thats just all hardware (has nothing to do with the topic) & those kinds of features unfortunately don't interest me at all, as I'm one whos life does not revolve completely around mobile cell phones (but those who do, u know who u people are..).
VZ has a lot of work ahead of them to break this perception I guess....
yea a carrier appstore is a good idea ill give you that but disabling the other app stores like apples windows or blackberry's and having you install them on your own is garbage. tha average user will not know they dont have the other app stores and verizon will make a quick buck off that. The only thing good about verizon is their network but not by much. I am much more happy with att.
Their Verizon, the RAT BASTARDS of Communication, they will do whatever they want!
man thats just straight evil. Well done verizon. Why don't you kick my dog while you're at it. sometimes I think that they are trying to piss off their customers.
You are all a bunch of dumb asses. Verizon has not done anything wrong!
1) Were the ONLY network with a App store.
2) They are not saying you can't have BlackBerry App World, ect.
3) All you do is DOWNLOAD it, which you have to do anyway!
When you get a BB, it shows app world, but you must download it first.
While Verizon "may not have done anything wrong" because you can always download the app stores, it demonstrates a stubbornness and chase of the almighty dollar that could lead to further draconian measures down the road. No other carrier does this, and considering you sign up for two years with a hefty penalty if you leave early, it's simply not worth entrusting yourself to Verizon for two years in advance.
OH GIVE IT A REST VERIZON FANBOY!!!! Verizon is just plain greedy you can keep giving the their money and supporting their rich lifestyles they are not getting a penny from me.
This is rediculous. Consumers really need to wake up and see what these carriers are slowly but surely trying to do and some of the device makers have choice nor guaranteed demand like the iPhone to make a stink about this. The carriers are trying to clamp down on our ability to upload applications. Pretty soon, you will see that a VZW phone will only get apps through a VZW store and not a WM or BB store...this may seem like a stretch, but it will come. As the carrier, they have a lot of power to dictate. By controlling these stores they can try to prevent users from adding applications that allow them to use the phones in ways they don't like, i.e. making their device a wifi router and allowing more than one person to use the data. It just hampers creativity. We'll see what the future will bring. I wonder what the future holds for a Handango type of company.
I hate Verizon as much as possible but if all I'd have to do is download an app, then consider my outrage extinguished. Now if they block the marketplaces, I'll take up my pitchfork and torch with the rest of you.
I am so tired of verizon and their damned closed mentality. I've only been on them this long becasue my girlfriends entire family uses them. I hope a day comes when they will lighten up a little and realize that they could continue making money without pissing off the world.
Aside from all this, I think everyone is forgetting one tiny thing... VZW app store sucks ass. I have the new Touch and there isnt a single app I'd buy. Much less SUBSCRIBE to. What is this, 1990? I'm not going to pay $4 a month to be able to access my ebay accounrd to retard. Especially since the browser has a link to vzw.ebay.com... I mean really... did they even stop to think for 1 second before they did that? The verizon app store is a total and complete joke.
I think its great we have stores for MS, BB, and Apple, but I think hands down apple started it the right way and continues to do it that way.
Yeah, but did anyone notice the actual quote from Verizon about aggregating content from multiple development communities? In my opinion, it sounds like Verizon wants to incorporate their branding into their own app store ui, but basically create a one-stop shop. I think everyone is taking this as terrible news without having the full details. What if it truly ends up being one UI for multiple app stores? I think that would be a good thing.
Could you imagine if Kraft, Betty Crocker, and countless other brands had their own stores? A supermarket makes a hell of a lot more sense.