At least three new online stores selling applications to run on Apple mobile devices will soon be open for business, taking aim at capturing a piece of the projected $800 million market for iPhone and iPod Touch applications, according to a report at The Wall Street Journal online.
Jay Freeman, a 27-year-old computer science doctoral student who says his “jailbreaking” software has been installed on nearly 2 million iPhones, is opening the Cydia Store to create a vehicle for himself, and developers like him, to capitalize on their efforts to develop software built outside the tightly controlled parameters of Apple’s iPhone SDK. Freeman says he will collect the same sales commission from 3rd party developers on his site that Apple collects from developers whose wares sell on the iTunes AppStore.
Two other “renegade” application marketplaces are planned, according to the Journal report - Rock Your Phone, for iPhone users who have not yet modified their devices to download unauthorized applications, and a thid online store specializing in selling adult games for the iPhone.
While Apple has yet to indicate any action to try and prevent the online stores from opening, Freeman has nonetheless hired legal counsel to press his case, should it come to that. “The overworking goal is to provide choice,” he says. “It’s understandable the [Apple] wants to control things, but it has been very limiting for developers and users.”
Via WSJ
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