Goodbye PocketGear, Hello Appia

Open app marketplace PocketGear has announced a rebrand to Appia, and a shift in focus from a b2c, to a b2b operation. The company says that it will focus on offering a white-label mobile app marketplace platform for mobile operators, handset manufacturers, mobile portals and consumer brands.

Appias platform will power third-party app stores around the world. Integrated into the platform is content from the Appia Developer Program, giving channel partners access to a catalogue of 140,000 paid and free apps.

Appia currently powers app stores for more than 40 partners, including four of the worlds top five handset manufacturers, three of the top four mobile operators in the US, three of the top 10 mobile operators globally, and leading media and ecommerce companies, including Samsung, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless. Appia’s platform enables its partners to deliver apps to more than 3,200 different mobile devices. A January report from the analyst Gartner forecast that global mobile app store revenues will almost triple from $5.2bn (£3.2bn) in 2010, to $15bn in 2011, and reach $58bn by 2014.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on building out an end-to-end application store platform for carriers and handset manufacturers, and supplying content developers with the tools they need to take control of the marketing and distribution of their apps to as many consumer touch points as possible,” says Appia CEO, Jud Bowman. “As consumers increasingly look for alternatives to the native app stores, Appia intends to power those other stores, and enable app creators to easily reach new customers.”
Appia has also launched an updated developer portal (dev.appia.com) where developers can upload their apps for discovery, download and distribution globally. Appia provides developers with an easy way to broaden their reach across a variety of app stores, offering distribution in more than 200 countries.