MWC Preview: More app stores in store at MWC 2009

Given that iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded more than 500 million mobile applications since Apple opened the virtual doors of its App Store in July 2008, it should come as no surprise to discover that the application storefront phenomenon looms as one of the major talking points of Mobile World Congress 2009. With Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer among the scheduled keynoters, word on the street suggests the software giant is poised to announce a series of new mobile initiatives in Barcelona, chief among them SkyMarket, the Windows Mobile app store first rumored last fall. A centralized virtual marketplace enabling consumers to find, purchase and download applications and content optimized for WinMo devices, SkyMarket was previously slated for introduction in conjunction with the release of Windows Mobile 7, but with the new OS delayed for the foreseeable future, it now appears Microsoft will launch the storefront sooner rather than later. Also reportedly on tap: SkyBox, a new solution that synchronizes mobile device information with the web, and SkyLine, which is essentially SkyBox for the enterprise.

Microsoft is not the only marquee name scheduled to introduce an app store next week: Samsung will unveil its own storefront for Symbian and Windows Mobile devices. The virtual marketplace, an extension of the Samsung Mobile Innovator developer program first announced last year will offer consumers over-the-air application browsing, purchasing, downloading and installation--Samsung will initially launch the service in the U.K. market, and will offer about 1,100 free and premium apps when the store opens.

For developers looking to get their hands dirty during Mobile World Congress, the GSM Association will offer its first-ever Developer Garage event on Monday, Feb. 16. Developer Garage promises to assemble coders, engineers and communities from across the value chain to learn, share and brainstorm new ideas for advancing the user experience--according to the GSMA, the event will feature keynotes, discussions and presentations, as well as a demo breakout area promising attendees up-close-and-personal development experience under the guidance of experts. The Mobile Application Challenge will even pit developers in a real-time app creation competition.

Developers and anyone else with a vested interest in the future of the mobile marketplace should also pay attention to Tuesday's conference keynote "Moving Toward an Open Mobile Ecosystem," which will feature Ballmer as well as AT&T Mobility president and CEO Ralph de la Vega, Nokia president and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walt Mossberg. Among the biggest beneficiaries of the industry's migration to a more open environment is the LiMo Foundation: At last year's Mobile World Congress, the open-source mobile consortium unveiled the first handsets based on its Linux-based LiMo Platform, and this year it will announce that board members NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone have committed to deploying LiMo devices. "This kind of operator commitment is proof that the LiMo Platform is commercially hardened and commercially proven," said LiMo Foundation director of global marketing Andrew Shikiar. "Developers will now have ability to reach a larger number of consumers than ever before--these operators serve close to a billion subscribers between them."

Like most everyone, Shikiar expects economic turmoil also will command attention and steer dialogue at Mobile World Congress 2009. "The money lies in data services and getting smartphones to consumers--the question is how do you do that without over-subsidizing phones and out-pricing subscribers," Shikiar said. "The devices are now better, the applications are more sophisticated and the consumers are savvier. Everything is right--except whether the consumer has the wallet for it."