Geared toward Omnia Smartphones

Guess what?! Samsung is going to open an App Store. Oh…really?

With all the app store openings of late, some might wonder when his or her next-door neighbor will open an app store for his lawnmower. Yet while “app store” is becoming as commonplace as the local Wal-Mart, Samsung hopes to capitalize on the good idea, essentially making it standard fare for all or many of their smartphones.

Opening day for Samsungapps.com is slated for September 14, and the site will first provide apps to the U.K., Italy, and France, with a couple dozen more countries to get access before the end of the year.

The apps are only designed for Samsung’s Omnia which is a rather impressive smartphone in its own right. While it’s no iPhone, it does boast a 5-megapixel camera (with video recording), spacious touchscreen, GPS capability, and all the Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities that you would expect from a decent smartphone. Unlike the iPhone, Samsung’s Omnia utilizes a MicroSD card for expansion and additional memory.

Every app store has to start somewhere, and Samsung plans to launch theirs with 300 applications ranging from games to business tools. In addition to the standard social networking portals, Omnia will have its own e-book reader, reference tools, time management software, and medical resources.

As more public and private developers get on board, Samsung expects to have more than 2,000 Omnia apps in the next four months. Already, big name developers like Electronic Arts, TAITO, and Capcom are producing software for the device, with more expected as the Omnia grows in popularity. In an effort to lure additional developers, Samsung has hosted contests and developer sites to gain even more apps. It’s no secret that the part of the iPhone’s success is their pioneering of the app store concept.

While it may not be the first company to realize the power of app stores, Samsung may be the company which is most aggressively using the tool to their advantage. The Omnia app store is not their first effort. Since Samsung is the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, having a garden of app stores for its phones isn’t just a good idea; it’s indispensable. A smartphone quickly loses its “smart” without a host of apps to choose from.

Thus, while yet another app store launch may very well be ho-hum, you might as well get used to it. Every smartphone needs one.

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