Great news, fans of entirely unnecessary operator app stores! Vodafone has revealed the design of its forthcoming Vodafone AppSelect app store, which will offer buyers of Android phones through the network a “Curated catalogue” that “allows for easy app discovery by eliminating poor quality apps.”
Developers will submit their apps to Vodafone for approval, seeing as this is a curated collection of the best Android has to offer. Here it is, looking actually rather clean and pleasant:
Vodafone says AppSelect will arrive pre-loaded on Vodafone Android phones sold in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece and the Netherlands. It’ll also integrate the previously announced carrier billing features, for bypassing Google Checkout and having app purchases billed direct to your mobile account.
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A slim and glamorous phone from Sony Ericsson, with the sharpest display around. It’s no powerhouse and the screen’s not the biggest out there, but we don’t mind. Because it’s cute.
LG’s first glasses-free 3D phone is a heavy, fat monster, with a clever 3D effect that works rather well. As a smartphone, though, it’s heavy and underwhelming.
A very shiny thing from Sony Ericsson, with a 3.7″ screen and Android 2.3.3 inside. But is it exciting enough to win fans in today’s spec-obsessed market? Can man live on one core alone?
INQ’s Android phone is an interesting “boutique” piece of hardware, packed with unique interface customisations that go far beyond the headline Facebook integration. We like it a lot.
Paul
/ November 18, 2011And this is the shit they are hold back the Samsung Nexus for??
Unbelievable…..
Binky
/ November 19, 2011Such a a waste of time. Who ever uses these pre-loaded app stores?
TheEggShell
/ November 22, 2011I think this app looks really cool!!
It’s about time users were spared the hassle of trawling through endless lists of poor apps.
Well done Vodafone!
Jay
/ November 30, 2011@ Paul, as you would have seen, everyone is holding back on nexus until they sort out the buggy volume issue…
As for this store, since launch, I have been getting more downloads in this store than in the Android market.. so clearly people are enjoying it, and I am enjoying the increase in revenue as a developer!
Personally, I feel that the UI for this store is far superior to the latest Android Market client…
nice work Vodafone!