Indeed, AT&T is encouraging the development of a broad set of app offerings, with the co-announcement of its new "apps for all" program, designed to help broaden the platforms that smartphone-style applications are being developed for.
"Our goal is to bring more apps to millions more of our customers who want convenient access to the market's hottest apps," AT&T Mobilities president and CEO Ralph de la Vega also said. "At the same time, in the future, we plan to go well beyond mobile devices to spur apps development."
The new initiative will reportedly provide technical support for developers including live chat, a standardized 70/30 revenue share for third-party developers, and a virtual network environment that will let developers troubleshoot their apps.
"Today, developers must essentially rebuild apps for different handsets and operating systems, increasing their costs, slowing the pace of innovation and stalling the delivery of mobile apps to customers," AT&T marketing chief David Christopher said. "We want to tear down the barriers and make it much easier for developers to reach our customers —and for our customers to access apps."
AT&T plans to offer apps for all major smartphone operating systems and its network allows users to talk on the phone while simultaneously surfing the web or reading emails.
Given the depth of the company's commitment to app diversity, this may be a vital distribution channel for adult operators to explore in 2010.
