Verizon Upgrade to Add Second App Store to Android

Verizon said Thursday that a software update to the Droid Incredible available next week will add the V CAST Apps store to the phone, essentially adding a second, competing app store to the existing Android Market.

Developers will have the option to sell their apps either via the Android Market or the Verizon app store, with one key difference: billing.

While Google's app store allows refunds for a period of up to 24 hours after purchase, Verizon will only process refunds on a case-by-case basis, according to a Verizon representative. But Verizon will also bill the app's purchase price to the existing wireless bill, instead of forcing users to use Google Checkout.

The update (characterized as version 3.26.605.1/Baseband version: 2.15.00.07.28) also includes a number of enhancements, including an updated Flash player; improvements to the visual voicemail application, with removal of incorrect service messages; enhanced support for Yahoo IMAP email; an updated Slacker application; the ability to attach files that are larger than 5 MB; updates COX and Comcast POP3 mail; and various fixes, including rotating Google Maps between landscape and portrait view, and presenting the search key and other buttons in the correct order.

Verizon originally launched V CAST Apps on the RIM platform in July of 2009, and the company always planned to launch on the BlackBerry and then move to other platforms, a Verizon spokeswoman said. AT&T also offers a similar store for RIM devices, called the AT&T AppCenter. It does not, however, compete with the Apple App Store.

"We think of it as sort of complementary to the other marketplace out there," the Verizon spokeswoman said. "It gives consumers an opportunity for discovery and to choose."

But whether or not Google views the Verizon app store as complementary or competitive is not known. Google representatives did not respond to two requests for comment.

Apple, by contrast, offers a single app store, and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has characterized the Google platform as "very fragmented," although he was referring to the variety in operating systems.

Many Android OEMs, including the two largest, HTC and Motorola, install proprietary user interfaces to differentiate themselves from the commodity Android experience," Jobs said, during a October conference call. "The user's left to figure it all out. Compare this with iPhone, where every handset works the same."

"The multiple hardware/software iterations presents developers with a daunting challenge," Jobs added. "Many Android apps work only on selected Android handsets, running selected Android versions. And this is for handsets that have been shipped less than 12 months ago. Compare this with iPhone, where there are two versions of the software, the current and the most recent predecessor, to test against."

While Google features specific apps in its App Store according to unknown criteria, Verizon said the advantage for developers to choose V CAST Apps will be because Verizon "has the opportunity to do marketing and merchandising". Verizon's Android phones also contain a dedicated Verizon channel inside the Android market, and "that will continue," the Verizon spokeswoman said. With V CAST, Verizon will also offer the same 70/30 revenue split that Google offers, she added.

By: Mark Hachman

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