Appstores.com, formerly Appbistro, is finally live today with the release of its AppShowcase product. AppShowcase lets platforms like Eventbrite and SimpleGeo automate the process of showcasing (I know right!) apps that are built with their APIs.
“AppStores.com is the most exciting new service for platform companies because it delivers an effective solution that we don’t have to design or develop — allowing us to focus on our platform and core product,” explained Eventbrite’s Mitch Colleran on why Eventbrite decided to use the AppStores platform to spotlight its developer ecosystem. You can find the Eventbrite AppStore here.
AppStores’ AppShowcase is especially useful because it brings visibility to third party applications, giving developers a good look at what the possibilities are for a given API by highlighting who else is building on the platform. It’s also great for app discovery: Now the platform can help market the app!
The potential of this is really exemplified by the SimpleGeo AppShowcase, which highlights popular apps like Hipmunk, Path and Posterous, but also introduces you to lesser knowns like Votizen, which connects voters to politicians, and Project Noah, a wilderness discovery app.
AppShowcase is platform agnostic, accepting apps from Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and PalmOS. The product is launching today with three partners and over 1000 apps and will bring on 15 more in May. Co-founder Nalin Mittal says that they are currently monetizing AppShowcase with a tiered pricing plan for partners who want increased features.
Appstores.com’s second product for publishers will be out in late May.