Samsung has announced that, as part of its Samsung Mobile Innovator program, it will be launching a new Samsung Mobile Applications store. The store will be focused on the U.K. initially, and will list both commercial applications and freeware. Better yet, there is no cost to submit your application to the store, nor is there any recurring fees for hosting the application in the store. As a developer, when you create your Samsung Mobile Innovator account, you’re automatically given a Samsung Mobile Applications store account, so it’s easy to keep everything in one place.
The store is set to be launched in a few weeks at the 2009 Mobile World Congress, which takes place in Barcelona, Spain. Initially, the store will feature 1,100 applications, and will also include Windows Mobile applications. It looks like the store is already up, you can preview it here, though hopefully there will be a dead-easy way to transfer the apps you purchase directly to your phone, without the need for a computer.
The only thing I can really say is bravo to Samsung. It appears as though 2009 might be the year that Samsung makes a bigger push into the S60 community, and I, for one, welcome them with open arms. I love me some Nokia, but competition is always good for the consumer, and having someone on the bleeding edge like Samsung can only serve to push Nokia to work harder in the S60 ecosystem. Now if only we can get LG to play ball…
