U.S mobile operator Verizon is to relaunch its ailing Android app store for smartphones, incorporating its new marketplace “Verizon Apps” onto Droid-branded handsets for free, CNN reports.
Verizon’s refreshed marketplace will co-exist alongside Google’s Android Market and is expected to be launched at a Las Vegas conference for developers on Tuesday, after the operator and its search partner Chomp have been discussing the app store with the media.
Verizon’s existing “V Cast Apps” and “Vast Cast” stores failed to make an impression on Verizon Android customers but the company believes that there is still room for alternative app marketplaces, with Verizon executive Kyle Malady noting that the operator’s ability to guarantee promotion for apps and services will attract software partners.
In the past, the mobile operator has partnered with service providers and sports networks, offering apps exclusively to its customers. Verizon offered Skype access on its devices before an app was released on Android, also offering live NFL games on customer’s mobile handsets.
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