One of the most difficult parts of getting a new phone is deciding which of the preinstalled bloatware apps might actually serve a purpose at some point in the future and which of the apps to delete. Android is most notorious for this practice, but we all have software on our phones that doesn’t belong there, which makes this report from The Information all the more baffling.
FROM EARLIER: Verizon thinks you’re stupid
According to The Information, Verizon is planning to launch its own mobile app store to compete with the Google Play store on Android devices. Verizon’s previous attempt at an app store failed to gain much traction, but now that Google has begun cutting back on revenue sharing with carriers for app sales, carriers are finding ways to make up for the losses.
“The company hopes to create a different kind of app store, one that would let software developers to take full advantage of specific features of wireless-carrier networks while also offering consumers new ways of discovering the mobile software they might want,” writes The Information’s Amir Efrati.
The report notes that Verizon would apply user data such as location and social media in order to recommend relevant apps.
There’s no firm release date for the app store, but regardless of when it launches, it’s hard to imagine how Verizon plans to convince users to convert from Google Play to its app store.
UPDATE: Speaking with Re/code shortly after the original report began to circulate, Verizon has flat out denied a new app store.
“We have no plans to do that,” Verizon spokeswoman Debra Lewis told Re/code. “Been there. Done that.”
