Expect to see lots more of this in the near future. Palm is the latest handset manufacturer to launch a direct distribution service for its handsets, in this case, The Palm Software Store. Comparisons to Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market Place are inevitable, and so, if you ask us, are a raft of other similar services before long. You just can’t keep a good idea down.
What’s different in Palm’s case is that the company has got itself a hired gun called PocketGear to run the service, which has apparently helped Palm to offer more than 5000 launch day apps from roughly 1500 developers. That’s plenty in anyone’s book, especially considering the App Store, which has been around for months, has just double that at 10,000.
Of the initial batch, 1000 of the Palm OS apps are free, though we are willing to bet not nearly so many of them are games, as was the case when the App Store launched. Another key difference is that where Apple is taking 30 percent from developers for all apps sold, Palm is asking for 50 percent, perhaps due to the fact that it has to share any revenue with PocketGear.
Any Palm users out there who want to check this out, just head here, but do remember to come back and tell us what you think in the comments.
(Via electronista)
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