Norwegian browser and mobile advertising solutions company Opera Software today announced that it is significantly enhancing its custom mobile application store, dubbed Opera Mobile Store, with more promotional options for app developers and publishers.
The company says the Mobile Store, which is available through the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers for handheld devices, currently reaches over 40 million unique monthly users, primarily located in emerging, fast-growing markets like India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa.
That makes it the world’s fifth largest mobile store, Opera says.
The newly announced promotional options are meant to provide mobile app developers with ways to distribute their applications beyond the mobile app store, to reach the now more than 200 million users of Opera products.
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Opera’s Mobile Store is based on technology gained from its 2011 acquisition of mobile app store solutions company Handster. The platform supports iPhone, Android, Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, netbook and tablet applications, thus rivalling GetJar and other app storefronts.
The company recently launched a self-service app promotion portal, where app developers and publishers can bid for customer downloads. Opera Software’s pay-per-download platform enables them to target end users by region, platform, handset and more.
The new features include sponsored product listings (which can appear on both the mobile store homepage as well as specific content categories), rich-media ad units showcasing featured apps as well as ‘Smart Page’ launch and contextually-relevant text banners available in the new Opera Mini 7.
In addition, Opera Software will start running “App of the Week” promotions on its Facebook and Twitter pages, targeted by region.
Also read:
Yandex to offer an alternative Android app store
Amazon will feature select apps in ‘Billboards’ on the new Kindle Fire tablets
Facebook, YouTube and Google dominate the mobile Web in Asia: Opera
Opera releases its first mobile advertising report; iOS king of the hill, Windows Phone sucking wind
Image credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images
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