Word on the street it that T-Mobile USA is planning on taking a more ‘open’ approach to applications; the carrier is said to be working on something similar to Apple’s app store for the iPhone, but for handsets across its line-up. That’s 31.5 million T-Mobile USA subscribers to the 10 million iPhone users Apple expects to have by year’s end.
Reported details of the new app approach include: developers will submit applications online; revenue sharing will be based on bandwidth usage; and the applications will be presented in order of popularity, not according to T-Mobile’s preferences.
Not enough is known yet to say whether this will be a truly open development initiative, but unlike other carriers who have done a lot of talking about opening up their networks, T-Mobile seems to have quietly been doing the work.
Moconews reported this comment from T-Mobile after the story broke:
“T-Mobile is working with the industry to foster an open wireless services platform which will provide developers with the tools and information they need to make new, innovative experiences available to T-Mobile’s more than 31.5 million customers. The devPartner Community site, which is in its alpha stage, is just a taste of what T-Mobile has in store and we encourage you to stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.”
via Moconews