Opera wants to shake up the app store as we know it. Instead of one-time paid and free apps, it wants to build a store where each and every app works as a subscriptions service.
The idea, it claims, is pretty straigtforward. App developers would simply charge users a set weekly, monthly or annual fee, and in return offer all-you-can-eat access to the corresponding app's functionality.
It's certainly worked for the like of `Netflix and Spotify as standalone services. But elsewhere the app subscription service has proven less successful, so whether Opera can make a go of it really remains to be seen. Crucial to any chance of success will be to get partners on board quickly—without that, the service will be doomed from the get-go. Let's wait see. [Opera via Engadget]
When it comes to offering mobile applications, though, that idea of subscriptions hasn't really taken off. Regardless of whether you're an independent developer or a major brand, you depend heavily on storefronts like Apple's App Store or Google Play to sell and promote your content. But Opera Software, known mostly for its web browsers, wants to change this. With its new Subscription Mobile Store initiative, Opera wants to give companies a platform to offer their apps through, as the name suggests, a subscription service.
In theory, Opera's marketplace would work in similar fashion to something like the Amazon Appstore, but without the one-time paid and "free" downloads. Instead, anyone making them could charge, say, on a weekly basis for access to their applications. It's definitely not a bad idea, now we'll just have to wait and see if Opera can manage to get others on board.
[Opera]
*
from Gizmodo http://ift.tt/1Fvj5fv
via http://ift.tt/1Fvj5fv
Blogger Comment