App discoverability is one of the biggest problems facing mobile publishers these days. That is especially true for HTML5 developers publishing apps to the mobile Web. A San Francisco-based startup wants to help. Appstores.com today is announcing the launch of a mobile app distribution network to help developers make their apps more discoverable and profitable.
Publishers will have the ability to run their own niche app stores that can be loaded with up to a million apps across the iOS, Android and HTML5 platforms. Publishers will also have the capability of advertising their apps in the network with HTML5 mobile ads. The big idea here is the notion of the network. Publishers can band together to showcase their apps across categories and app repositories, increasing visibility across the platform.
The notion of Appstores.com is intriguing not for what it is, but what it could become. By giving developers and publishers a platform to curate their own app stores, Appstores.com has the potential to create several high profile app repositories that could transcend the platform itself. For instance, a gaming studio could create its own app store to sell its Android, iOS and HTML5 apps and make partnership deals with other publishers to include their games as well.
The key phrase for the platform will be “powered by Appstores.com.” The startup itself does not need to be another third-party app store like Getjar or the Amazon Android Appstore but positions itself to be a platform, giving the power to the developer the create the network. Appstores.com will supply HTML5 ads of apps that can cross individual apps stores as well as a dashboard for developers to claim their apps and submit them to individual stores. The dashboard also has basic analytics for views, clicks and installs from across the network. Appstores.com has already logged almost every iOS and Android app into its library which means that developers can just sign up and claim their app.
The initial rollout partners are distinctly of the niche variety. The first five to launch are HelloBrit.com, CreativeDigitalMusic.com FabFitFun.com, OutDoorzy.com and iPhoneGames.com.
In terms of the HTML5 ad network, initial partners are 9GAG, TheNextWeb, WPtouch and local news aggregator Topix.
Developers: Can you see yourself claiming your app on Appstores.com? Or are you going to host your own app repository? What benefits can you see with the Appstores.com’s model? Detriments? Let us know in the comments.
