

T-Mobile Will Ditch The Traditional Deck To Mirror Apple’s App Store - echair
http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-t-mobile-usa-to-revamp-content-strategy-in-the-fall-to-mirror-apples-ap/

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wmf
This is nice, but it probably isn't enough. Because T-Mobile has so many
different phone models, a single app will only be able to reach a fraction of
their customers.

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unalone
It's the next step in phone companies bowing to Apple's vision. They copy
Apple, they create something less capable of succeeding, Apple gains ground.

Still, I'd like to see how well they pull this off. As you said: getting it to
work on everything is a little bit tricky.

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notauser
It doesn't have to work on everything to suceed, as long as:

\- There are large enough subsets to be worthwhile in their own right (e.g.
J2ME phones, all Blackberry handsets, etc).

\- Customers only see apps that will work on their phone. At present the
mobile app industry is not helped by confusing customers before they even make
a sale - not everyone knows what their device can do.

\- Quirks that make porting between devices hard (e.g. wierd handset bugs, or
carrier specific changes) are documented well. T-mobile are probably already
doing this and it would cut down development time for ISVs.

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unalone
I don't think it'll be a failure: I think they've got a good shot with this.
What this does, however, is silence critics of Apple's App Store plan. When
other companies pick it up, it gives Apple credibility.

