Moto's app store opens in China
Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. is launching a new app store for its Android phones - in China.
Called Zhi-Jian-Yuan, or Shop4Apps, the Motorola store allows Chinese owners of Android phones to purchase and download applications to customize their phones. It will be available on new Motorola Android phones sold in China by February.
Some unique things about the app store include a so-called "locker" that allows users to download and purchase an app only once and use it forever. It's actually switchable to another Android phone if the first one breaks or is lost. The app store is also being touted to developers as a way to showcase, sell and distribute those apps in China.
"There's a tremendous amount of opportunity for us in China," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services for Motorola's Mobile Devices business in Libertyville.
Motorola has already launched Cliq and Backflip here with the Google Android platform. More products are planned for a portfolio of such phones here and overseas.
The large population in China, along with fresh opportunities to sell more of its handsets, led Motorola to start the app store there, officials said. Wyatt was unclear on whether Motorola also would provide a similar store here. Instead, she recommended Google or the service provider's own branded app stores.
But she did say MotoBlur, which syncs your messages, photos and other posts from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Gmail on the Androids, will be doing more with photos and music in the future.
"The Android is a premier platform that will allow us to provide more cool things with multimedia and gaming down the road," she said.
There were concerns on whether Motorola could launch its latest Android phone this week with China Unicom due to Google's censorship concerns with the Chinese government. But Motorola is apparently making up for any issues there, according to a report Thursday by Mark McKechnie, a telecom analyst with Broadpoint AmTech.
"The other two carriers in China, China Telecom and China Mobile, have already launched with Motorola's Android-based phones, so there is no impact to these products as of yet," McKechnie said in the report. "A lack of support from Google could limit the appeal, however. Motorola had not announced anything yet with China Unicom, though we were looking for a potential launch in the Spring time frame."
McKechnie also said that he's encouraged that the Android phones are "now shipping to 23 carriers in 15 countries with 10 more carriers planned before the end of February."