Tuesday, September 2, 2008

iPhone Helped Clear Path for Mobile Apps Awareness

Apple’s iPhone has opened our eyes to mobile application downloading with its Apps Store, but service carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have been offering similar application portals for years. Though you may think they’re jealous of Apple’s success, these providers are grateful for the new awareness that accompanied the iPhone’s success. AT&T houses the MEdia Mall, where users of hundreds of handsets can download music, games, ringtones, graphics, applications and other content. Recently, AT&T began to focus on social networking – the next big category in mobile phone applications.

Sprint, with its PowerVision services and online portal, strives to deliver content that is relevant to its customers. T-Mobile’s T-Zones offers an application store currently undergoing a re-vamping to more closely resemble Apple’s Apps Store. They encourage their customers to download applications to make the most out of their phones, including applications that offer weather reports, mapping tools and restaurant guides. Verizon’s Get It Now storefront has also been around for years, but Verizon has gone one step further on their website, allowing users to find the perfect phone (with the accompanying application options) for users’ needs. So whether you want to use your phone to watch mobile TV, download and listen to music or get turn-by-turn directions, there is a phone for you, ready to download relevant applications. Other carriers have kept up with the bigger service providers, all ready to offer applications on handsets. It’s a new age of mobility, and carriers are ready to keep you in the loop. Get ready to download!

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