Google will now allow developers of applications for the new “Google phone” to sell their programs in a store similar to Apple’s App Store for the iPhone.
The first “Google phone” – the first phone to run on the company’s Android operating system – has been released in Australia and has been hailed as a rival to the iPhone. But the Android operating system code is open-sourced, which allows developers to create, load and share applications legally by themselves.
The new store for Google applications will see companies put a price tag on apps.
The market for smartphone applications has grown with the popularity of Apple’s App Store, with some developers making hundreds of thousands of dollars from programs that take a short time to develop.
“Initially, priced applications will be available to end users in the US starting mid next week,” a post on the Google Android developers blog said. While the Android market has been open since last year, it has only offered free applications until now.
A Google spokesperson says there are currently 1000 applications available for the Android system.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
