Verizon Expected To Re-Launch Their Android Appstore As Verizon Apps

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Well, well, well, it looks like Verizon is going to be making some changes in terms of their Android app store which at present is sporting the V Cast branding. The new and updated version will reportedly be called Verizon Apps and come powered by Chomp. It is also expected to be unveiled during a developer conference later today.

And while that all sounds pretty good, we have to question if this will be enough to convince people to begin using it. After all, at the present time the only really reason we see to download an app from Verizon is for carrier billing. Otherwise, there is already the Android Market on every device. Plus, the Amazon Appstore (among some others) is easily available for those looking for an alternative.

But aside from getting down on Verizon, this newly re-launched version of Verizon Apps is expected to come pre-loaded on Droid devices from Verizon. And most likely, will begin to appear on existing Droid devices by way of software update, though that last part is speculation on our part. The rebuilding of the app store should be nice overall, and we suspect the integration with Chomp will only make the user experience a bit nicer overall.

That said, Verizon’s Todd Murphy spoke with All Things D in a phone interview and noted that they see Verizon Apps as being a way to focus on premium apps and in turn provide a better way for developers to get their paid apps front and center. In that respect, Verizon having an app store sort of makes sense. Taking that a step further though, and we learn that Murphy went on to state that around three out of five downloads from the Verizon app store are paid as compared to around one in ten from the regular Android Market.

Of course, we cannot help but wonder what they are actually seeing in terms of overall usage. Sure, it is nice that three out of five are paid, but what happens if they are only serving up a small fraction of downloads as compared to the regular Android Market. With that, we look forward to seeing what Verizon has lined up to announce later today.