Vodafone has announced it is to expand its existing relationship with the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) to enable developers to create and distribute paid apps through its Vodafone 360 social portal.

JIL, which is a platform designed by Vodafone, China Mobile, Softbank and Verizon to develop mobile services, is already supported by handsets from LG, RIM, Samsung and Sharp.

As a result, developers can now publish paid apps on Vodafone 360 through the platform's website - JIL.org - to selected Vodafone companies in Europe.

Mix and match

Developers are able to choose from one, some or all of the selected markets for each app they publish.

20 price points ranging from €0.49 to €9.99 (£0.49 to £9.99 in the UK) are available and you can set separate prices for each Vodafone market.

Reports let you see how many downloads and sales each app has had at each price point in each market on a daily or monthly basis.

The platform offers a 70:30 split of all revenue, the money paid monthly approximately 60 days after its been earned.

Connecting with customers

"Through the JIL.org site, we are providing developers with simple upload methods, a transparent review process and greater insight thanks to enabled country-specific market and pricing information," said director of content services at Vodafone, Lee Epting.

Vodafone claims the partnership will aid studios using open web tech to connect with customers using JIL-supported handsets.

The company has also launched a new dedicated developer site designed to give studios greater insight on what to consider when designing an app for Vodafone 360.

"Combined with our new dedicated developer.vodafone.com site, we can help developers quickly tailor their apps to local markets, making them more relevant and generating more downloads," Epting added.

Those interested in publishing a widget through JIL.org for Vodafone 360 are advised to go to the dedicated section of the JIL website.