HTC to Launch Own App Store?

HTC might soon be joining the likes of Verizon, Amazon, and others, as it explores a potential self-branded Android app store. As the Financial Times is reporting, HTC is hiring new staff to act as content editors for an upcoming book/magazine/application store. HTC is currently excersizing its cloud-service muscle with the release of the HTCSense.com service with the Desire Z and the Desire HD. This concept could easily expanded to be a full-on store that allows HTC owners to buy, rate, and share for-pay content from the web or right from their phone. 

Looking beyond the issue of fragmention, does an HTC app store makes sense? Well, first, it needs to reach millions of people, which HTC certainly can muster with its ability to sell millions of devices per year, plus reach a huge existing user base. Second, it must provide an advantage over the Android Market experience in order to attract end users first, then developers second. With HTCSense.com, HTC has come up with a way to offer cloud-based services for their Android devices. To be able to view wallpapers/ringtones/apps/skins online via HTCSense.com then beam them the ones you like directly to your phone is a terrific capability. Integrate this with books and magazines, and you've got a truly killer end-to-end mobile shopping experience. 



via PocketNow