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Mozilla Plans Mobile App Store

Posted by samzenpus on from the one-of-many dept.

dkd903 writes "Mozilla wants to make it big in the Mobile world and has revealed its plans for a unique mobile app store in its annual report — 'The State of Mozilla,' which was released recently. Mozilla has already brought the desktop Firefox experience to mobile devices as the Fennec browser, which was initially launched for the Maemo platform on Nokia N900. Mozilla has designed a prototype of a mobile app store and plans to call it a 'Open Web App ecosystem.' The aim is to create an open app store platform that would consist of apps that can run on all mobile devices: — A 'Mobile Device Independent' App Store."

11 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is this really needed? by martin-boundary · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe it is just me, but cell phones seem to require more involvement by at least one party to ensure quality control.

    All the main Linux distros do quality control implicitly when they package their binaries. For every big and not so bit piece of open source and/or Free software, there's a distro guy who makes sure it installs and at least runs when invoked. Those guys sometimes do a whole lot of work to make that happen, even.

    I don't see what's so special about cell phones and app stores - especially if they run Linux under the covers anyway.

  2. I'd like a taste by zeroRenegade · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd be interested in seeing an app store moderated by a free software foundation. I think it could attract a lot of talented developers. It would free us from the walled garden and the android market is being drowned by a flood of low quality development. For example, if you look for a live wallpaper, there are hundreds of applications from just a few of the same developers. Developers should be restricted in the amount of applications that they slapped together which they are allowed to release. A foundation like Mozilla understands good software.

    Cloud applications are making a good fight, but in reality local applications/games in javascript and webgl are the future. Both of these types of web applications could be distributed through mozilla. I'd be willing to part with the same 30% that Apple takes from my pie, if the store garners a decent customer base.

    1. Re:I'd like a taste by icebraining · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's because you're still clinging to the idea that AAA games are the future. They're not even the present. The casual gaming market is growing immensely and has much better profit margins.

      --
      Dilbert RSS feed
    2. Re:I'd like a taste by duguk · · Score: 2, Interesting

      there are hundreds of applications from just a few of the same developers. Developers should be restricted in the amount of applications that they slapped together which they are allowed to release. A foundation like Mozilla understands good software.

      I couldn't disagree more. More software isn't a bad thing, and stopping duplication or number of releases would be against the whole point of a free software foundation.

      What's needed is a better way to distinguish good apps from bad apps; in the same way that we have on other OS's - especially Windows. Mozilla are pretty good with this on their Addons (there's a lot of crap, but you don't often see it) - I could see this going well.

      As for language and where it's run, I don't see as it's that important; developers should choose the best tool for the job.

  3. Already being done... by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm sure Mozilla can do a good job, but there are already similar attempts underway - one is OpenAppMkt.

    I guess Mozilla has an advantage in that they can bundle it with the browser, but to me it seems more like mobile users would be using such a thing than desktop users, and I don't know of any mobile devices that ship with Mozilla as the default browser.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  4. Browser with JS device API + Open store by Mandrel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There needs to be a browser that exposes in JavaScript a common API for phone I/O: accelerometer, multi-touch, camera, GPS. etc.

    I'd also like to see a store for apps (native or HTML+JS) that charged for apps but also (1), encouraged developers to make the source of their apps available, and (2), allowed other developers to sell altered binaries on the same store, with the original author getting a cut equal to what they originally charged, and so on down the line. This would open development, while ensuring those adding value are compensated. It'd be like a software VAT.

    1. Re:Browser with JS device API + Open store by ducomputergeek · · Score: 2, Informative

      There needs to be a browser that exposes in JavaScript a common API for phone I/O: accelerometer, multi-touch, camera, GPS. etc.

      Um that part already exists: http://www.phonegap.com/

      --
      "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
  5. Guaranteed Fail by digitaltraveller · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'll bet good money this will fail. One reason apps are so popular is that their user experience is so highly customised to their individual devices.

  6. Re:Web apps mean open - how not? by Mandrel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How are web apps not open, ever? By definition if they run you can see the source, because the browser has to have the javascript/css to work...

    JavaScript can be compressed/encoded/obfuscated, which makes it much harder to modify than when there are both code comments and proper function and variable names. API documentation, both client and server-side, may also be lacking.

  7. PhoneGap by Mandrel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    PhoneGap looks like it's a set of SDKs that allows apps written in JavaScript to run on a number of phone OSes; not a browser for each of these OSes that allow arbitrary websites to act like device-integrated phone apps.

    Does anyone know of a browser app with PhoneGap capability? Would such an app be approved by Apple?

  8. Cart before horse by suv4x4 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I love the guys at Mozilla, but damn they're good at digging a hole for themselves.

    All mobile platforms have stores that offer apps. Including web stack apps, as both for iPhone, Symbian and Android, *officially approved* SDK-s exists that compile cross-platform apps driven by the built-in WebKit (plus extra API-s exposed to it, to make it an app).

    This means Mozilla will be creating a niche no one is asking for, and potentially shooting their chances of being on the iPhone, as Apple has shown it may approve video players and web browsers in some cases, but it'll never approve an App Store app.

    Everyone *everyone* I have seen install Mozilla's browser on a mobile says the same thing: make it faster, make it more efficient. I guess they thought this is not fancy enough, so let's put an app store clone... Sigh.