Verizon challenges Apple with Vcast app store : News : Software - ZDNet Asia

Verizon challenges Apple with Vcast app store : News : Software - ZDNet Asia: "Verizon challenges Apple with Vcast app store

Verizon Wireless is jumping on the application store bandwagon and taking on Apple and its App Store with its own Vcast application store, which it announced at its first ever developer conference in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday.

The new Vcast application store will launch in the fourth quarter of 2009. Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, said it will offer application developers a quick and simple way to distribute and monetize their applications while providing wireless subscribers with an easier way to discover and buy new applications for their smartphones.

Executives from Verizon Wireless--which has been criticized in the past for restricting devices, disabling features and blocking applications from its phones--say they recognize the industry is changing. And the new application store is one way the company can maintain its relevancy in the wireless market while also fostering innovation in the developer community."