Vodafone is launching a new app store wanting to get some of that iphone magic. It is good see all these carriers inevitably following suite, but it is ridiculous to have so many different app stores for mobile apps. This is a result of fragmentation mobile platforms.
Vodafone today has followed in the footsteps of other carriers concerned about becoming a dumb pipe by unveiling plans for an application store. But the details provided by Reuters have me questioning the success of the venture. First, Vodafone is taking a 30 percent cut of the revenue for all apps, which is what Apple charges, and is pretty close to the 33 percent or 40 percent that phone companies charged app makers in the pre-Apple days. That seems like a lot for a me-too product that developers will be skeptical of.
There’s also the question of the user experience and app discovery. The App Store nailed the user experience — and that’s why it is so successful. Technically savvy consumers want to buy the iPhone; they want to download the apps (and lots of them), and developers don’t mind giving up a cut of their sales to build for the platform. It’s hard to imagine that Vodafone, even with the promise of attracting millions of potential users, can make its app store as sexy.