Motorola Developing Droid App Store

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Pictures and information on a Motorola-only App Store have surfaced on the internet. The SHOP4APPS store includes apps for sale for Motorola Android phones, and is provided by Motorola. The site is still in testing and was pulled quickly by Motorola when news of its discovery hit the internet.

The web-based store can be accessible from a desktop browser (which is how blog AndroidandMe first found it), but its design makes it obvious that Motorola intended it to be viewed on a phone, with the block text and 100px thumbnails. The store will be accompied by a corresponding Mobile Client app that will run on the Droid.

The ‘MyLocker’ section of the site will allow users to view what they’ve already purchased – and repurchase them again. AndroidandMe reports that it’s possible to buy something via a Desktop Browser, then download it from your phone later via the MyLocker. AndroidandMe attempted to download a copy of the SHOP4APPS client on one of their Motorola CLIQs and it failed to start. Obviously, all this stuff was meant to be internal.

It isn’t clear what roll the SHOP4APPS store will play, or why Motorola even plans to release it when the Android Market is already out there. Motorola likely is trying to get their name in the mobile app game with this move, but I can’t imagine many users and developers will flock to the SHOP4APPS store over the Android Market. No release date information on the SHOP4APPS store was found in all the covert web surfing.