Verizon planning own application store, manufacturers not invited

Verizon may want the Pre (or a device like it) on their network, but apparently the App Catalog is not in the cards. As reported at GigaOM, Ryan Hughes, VP of Partner Management at Verizon Wireless, said that Verizon is developing its own application store that will be the only application store pre-loaded on Verizon network devices.

Of course, that’s not going to please manufacturers and probably not developers either. But Verizon’s going to try nonetheless, with plans to hold a developer recruiting event on July 28. With BlackBerry, Palm, Android, and Apple (whom, let's face it, Verizon wants) all having their own working application stores up and running, and Windows Mobile’s right around the corner, Verizon’s not only late to the game, but pushing their luck with their partners. Verizon may be the biggest cellular provider in the United States, but there’s only so much push that manufacturers and developers will take before they start to push back. Verizon’s already infamous for locking down their handsets, and kicking off manufacturer app stores may very well be a step too far.

There is a bonus that many subscribers will prefer, however: the apps in Verizon’s store can be tied to their account. And that’s not just billing, Verizon-specific APIs will be available for developers to take advantage of capabilities like location-based services. Of course, those are features that are easily available in all those other application stores, Palm’s App Catalog and Mojo SDK included.

Verizon is aiming to launch their application store by the end of this year. Verizon has historically shunned developers, especially smartphone developers, with the end goal of maintaining the stability of their network. It’s a great network, but it seems that it comes with strings.