T-Mobile USA reveals more on App Store rival

It was announced several weeks ago that T-Mobile USA was planning its own spin on an App Store-like applications portal for its mobile subscribers, but now the operator has given more details in an interview with Moconews.

Key details are that the new store will cover a range of handsets, but NOT Android (or SideKick) devices, and will be tied in with the operator's new devPartner scheme.

Like the App Store, developers will set the price of their applications. The 'baseline' for the revenue share on paid apps will be 50-50, although the developer's cut may grow to 70 per cent if they support at least ten handsets, provide customer care, and don't hog too much bandwidth.

Free applications will be allowed as long as they're not bandwidth-heavy - no streaming video or audio - but in the scheme's initial stages, advertising within apps won't be allowed.

T-Mobile will provide developers with technical support and test devices under the terms of the scheme.

Games developers are sure to be among the most interested applicants when the devPartner scheme launches next week, although many will be looking for more details on how customers will discover apps through T-Mobile's storefront.