PocketGear buys Handango to create giant app store
PocketGear has bought Handango, creating the world's largest cross-platform mobile application store, the companies announced on Tuesday.
Combined, the two app stores have a catalogue of more than 140,000 paid and free applications for users of Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, Linux and Java handsets.
"Our vision is to facilitate an open app-store ecosystem that supports every mobile device, every application, and every carrier network globally," PocketGear chief executive Jud Bowman said in a statement.
"By combining the two largest independent app-store companies, we're creating significantly more scale and value for all the stakeholders in the open app-store ecosystem."
According to the statement, the deal means that PocketGear's developer programme now takes in more than 32,000 developers, with over 40 storefront and distribution partners including handset manufacturers, mobile operators and media and ecommerce companies.
The biggest mobile app store at the moment is that for Apple's iPhone, which — according to recent statistics from Distimo — has around 150,000 titles. The Android Market has around 20,000 titles.
The companies did not disclose the amount PocketGear paid for Handango.