China Unicom to launch multi platform app store

In a move designed to take advantage of a growing appetite for mobile apps, China's second largest carrier China Unicom has revealed it is to launch its own app store this November.

The new platform, dubbed Wostore, is already available in beta form, supporting apps for Android, Windows Phone and Symbian.

More than 2,100 apps have already come on board, with the operator clearly hoping it can tap up its 162 million strong subscriber base come launch.

Carrier crazyWhile the app business arguably lags behind activity in the west, China Unicom isn't the first carrier in the region to launch its own app store.

The country's leading operator China Mobile already has a marketplace consisting of more than 20,000 apps for its 569 million subscribers.

China Telecom, which has lags behind China Unicom in terms of customers, also launched its own marketplace back in March, with more than 5,000 apps currently available for sale.

No go west

Conversely, western firms have found the Chinese market a somewhat harder not to crack.

Apple's App Store has failed to grab significant market share to date, despite what was reported as overwhelming demand for iPhone 4 at launch.

Estimates currently place the marketplace's penetration at just under 6 percent, while rival Google is yet to launch Android Market officially in the region.

Commentators have suggested all is far from lost for both companies, however, with Chinese operators launching app stores reportedly in response to perceived consumer demand rather than as a result of any grand plan or strategy.

[source: PC World]