Joint venture between app store operators in the works?

A panel of mobile operators speaking at the Mobile Entertainment Market 2009 has spoken out about the increasing number of online, on-device application stores, and how many is too many.

“Everyone’s selling the same catalogue. The worst possible thing is a customer switches on their phone and there’s three different app stores on there," said head of O2's Litmus service, James Parton. "It could lead to a mess."

RIM's alliances director, Rory O'Neill agrees, although considering his position, it would seem it's his job to agree. Nonetheless: "It’s important we respect our relationships with operators,” he explains, though he's also cautious not to alienate any companies looking to open an online BlackBerry store, saying "The reality is there have to be multiple routes to markets for developers. It’s important we make sure it’s not just about one store and one route to market.”

But MocoNews's Robert Andrews was in attendance, and asked the panel about the possibility of a Hulu approach to app stores, whereby the operators join forces to deliver a unified sales channel direct to the consumers.

A glimmer of hope was heard from Parton, who replied, "We are talking to each other, but it’s early days.”