I Can Host My Own Appstore. Google Can, Too.

Anyone can host an app store, not just Google.  Me, for example. All I have to do, roughly speaking, is put up a website and let people upload apps to it that other folks can download.

(In fact, it looks like all I have to do to put an app on an Android phone is email it to the phone's owner.  The phone is set up to recognize a correctly built and formatted app and install it.)

"Stores" add bells and whistles, like nice GUIs, search functions, ratings, ability to buy and sell, and so on, but their essence is only that -- a web site with a bunch of apps to download.

Google's app store (this week, called "Google Play") adds some security. Google claims that they screen for malware, in some way, so downloading apps from it is safer. Indeed, downloading from any other store typically requires changing a phone's settings to permit "unsafe" downloads.

Still, there are lots of stores out there. Me, I've used Amazon's -- free Angry Birds! -- but there are lots of smaller players, too. Here's a review of some, a few of which have already gone under.

The problem, as you'd guess, is that there's little motivation to provide apps through alternative stores. Everyone knows Google and Amazon. It's not like the sites can offer more convenience, like a neigborhood shop or corner grocery, either. Google's just as accessible as anything else. Better service? You click. It's done.

What's left? One market advantage for a smaller store is specialization.  Here's a site that caters to people who want apps for e-book readers. Google Play has some broad categories and search (imagine that), but when you actually try searching, you quickly realize that it would be nice to have an app store that specifically catered to, say, language-learning apps, or pet apps, or ....

Another nich for small stores is the restricted-access store. A store specifically for JBC-P apps is a perfect example. The Marine Corps doesn't want just anybody to have access to battlefield apps, much less the ability to upload things that Marines can download onto their JBC-P devices.

My employer, Aircell, has talked about hosting a limited set of apps for the Aircell Smart Phone, which it would approve for use on airplanes. (There are FAA and FCC certification issues involved.) Aircell could do the work to set up its own, but may not need to. Google just announced that it will host "private" stores. Such a store would let Aircell leverage Google's UI, their hosting experience, and their security features.

I like it.