Although a mobile software store like Handango has vastly improved its application distribution platform, and ten new "free download" sites appear every month, there has always been something missing in the mobile software market: A way for mobile software developers to effectively distribute its applications, without having to spend 90% of the time on inefficient marketing, or be forced to raise venture capital in order to sign carrier or manufacturer licensing deals.
When looking at the last ten years in mobile software development, it's easy to see who made it, and they are few. We don't have any specific numbers, but a large part of the application revenues can likely be linked to a handful of software houses. And though there are some brave examples, most of these software houses are now just as corporate as the hardware makers, and true mobile software innovation is no longer easy to find.
With Apple's new App Store, it looks like Apple has recognized the fact that an exciting mobile platform needs an application distribution system that makes it possible for talented mobile software developers to grow in popularity without going corporate. And more, the App Store will encourage free, yet often useful, applications to be effectively spread as long as they get verified.
In many ways, what Apple is doing is taking the best from Palm and Windows Mobile worlds, and combining all the efforts into creating one unique mobile software download experience over-the-air. We simply don't see how it can go wrong.
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