Google's 'App Store For The Web' Is A Mirror Image Of Apple's App Store

Jason Kincaid

Jason Kincaid worked as a writer for TechCrunch from April 2008 through 2012. He grew up in Danville, California and later relocated to UCLA in Los Angeles, California, where he studied biology with a minor in ‘Society and Genetics’. You can reach him at jkincaid@gmail.com → Learn More

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010


Google’s Chrome Web Store is launching this October, giving users the ability to purchase premium web applications (and developers an easy way to sell their wares). And, in an apparent attempt to make sure that users are as comfortable as possible with this new web-app market, Google is drawing inspiration from the best. Actually, “blatantly copying” would probably be a better choice of words — the Chrome Web Store looks nearly identical to Apple’s App Store.

The image above, which was captured by 1Up.com at a recent gaming conference, shows just how similar some portions of Google’s Chrome Web Store are to the iTunes App Store: colorful panels of featured apps at the top, scrolling thumbnails further down, with top ranked apps on the right side of the screen. The only major differences are the left nav-bar and garish ‘top rated’ and ‘hot games’ logos in Google’s version.

Still, blatant as this may be, it’s probably a wise choice on Google’s part. Chrome’s Web Store will only thrive if a lot of people are actually buying apps and games on it, and Google is giving people what they’re familiar with.

Update:: In Google’s defense, the profile pages for apps do look different from the App Store’s (I actually like Google’s better):

Company: Google
Website: google.com
Launch Date: September 7, 1998
IPO: NASDAQ:GOOG

Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...

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Product: App Store
Company Apple

The iTunes App Store allows iPhone users to download apps that take advantage of all the iPhone/iPod touch features. Users can either download the app through iTunes or directly from their cellphones.

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Company: Apple
Website: apple.com
Launch Date: April 1, 1976
IPO: NASDAQ:AAPL

Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. in January 2007. Among the key offerings from Apple’s product line are: Pro line laptops (MacBook Pro) and desktops (Mac Pro), consumer line laptops (MacBook Air) and desktops (iMac), servers (Xserve), Apple TV, the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server operating systems, the iPod, the...

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