In a definitely gutsy move to compete in the mobile space Dell has opened their own app store. An interesting aspect of their app store from the beginning is that they provide apps for just about every mobile OS EXCEPT for Apple’s iPhone. The app store support apps for Android, Blackberry, WebOS, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. Their store supports about 11 carriers and it brags that there are more than “50,000 ways to improve your phone.”
The content of the store is being powered by PocketNow and it accepts credit cards and PayPal for payments. It seems you have to buy the apps and then transfer them over to your phone via a computer since there seems to be no over-the-air purchases available from the specific device. One negative aspect are that some of the apps that you try to purchase say, “Applications for your device are available for download only from the Android Market application on your device.” Overall dell seems to be taking the position some others took with their applications. Getjar is the most famous example of a multi-platform approach that has seen more than 1 billion downloads. While measurements are a bit sketchy, it is likely the second-largest mobile app store in the world behind Apple App Store. With the launch of the Dell Streak and other rumored devices on the way it’s interesting to see the move Dell is making. Maybe dell’s own OS is next.