Slapping handset makers in the face, Verizon Wireless wants to create an app store that works across all supported smartphones.
A Verizon app store would allow developers to create one application for all of Verizon's phones, GigaOM reports. Ideally, under this system an app purchased on one smartphone would transfer to another should the customer switch phones, as long as he or she sticks with Verizon.
It's not clear whether this is how the system will work, but I think Verizon stands to gain a lot more by making its apps cross-compatible. Not only does this keep customers from switching to another provider, it allows them to upgrade phones with Verizon (and therefore commit to more service contracts) without losing all the programs they've paid for.
You'd think smartphone makers would be happy about this as well, except that Verizon is looking to lock out those companies' existing app stores. In other words, Blackberry App World and Windows Mobile Marketplace won't be accessible from Verizon phones once the service provider launches its own store.
Whether you agree with this idea depends on where your allegiance lies. Fans of a particular phone, such as Blackberry, would probably prefer App World, as it would follow them from one provider to another. Customers who are loyal to a provider, such as Verizon, might receive the idea more warmly. Then there's the iPhone, which I bet will continue to operate autonomously no matter where it goes, simply because it's such a juggernaut.
First, Verizon has to woo software developers on the idea. That will occur later this month at the Verizon Developer Community Conference. The store is due to launch by the end of the year.
