T-Mobile to create app store for Android and other platforms

Supposedly the plan is to do something similar to Apple’s App Store for the iPhone. In the Apple store, Apple takes a 30% revenue cut from the sale of any non-free application, with the remaining 70% going to the developer. It is claimed that the T-Mobile system will work similarly, though the rev share percentages will vary based on the type of application and how heavily it relies on data. For example, an application that computes tips would not rely on the network at all and would result in T-Mobile taking a smaller share, but a streaming radio player would use the network a great deal and T-Mobile would want a bigger piece of the pie as a result.

People have been saying for some time that Android needs something like Apple’s App Store in order to thrive in the smartphone market. Hopefully this report about T-Mobile’s plans are true, and other carriers will feel compelled to do the same just as we saw all of the carriers offer unlimited voice plans one right after the other once Sprint pulled the trigger on its Simply Everything plan.

[via MobileBurn]