To accompany the launch of the WIPwiki appstore WIP’s been going around interviewing mobile Appstore providers of the kind you generally do not hear about. In this first interview we talked to Victor Shaburov, CEO of Handster. Handster provide a mobile appstore but more importantly specialize in white label appstores for OEM and Operators.
WIP: We love the name of your company does it stand for “Napster of the handheld device world”?
VS : Yes, the name originally had some hints to this, because we were doing SDK with direct payment and peer-to-peer sharing (with possibility to make a few dollars on sharing apps). Sharing was later dropped, but the name remained.
[Neat idea to get users to swap app directly with built-in billing and an affiliate scheme, this one score high in the ideal appstore (see on the left hand corner) discussion]
Handster launched pretty recently in a world where appstores are getting more numerous by the day. Why did you decide to start a new appstore then? What makes you different?
Project was actually started in 2004, so it is not that recent.
Right now we are focusing on providing more qualitative content:
- we are adding screenshots to app descriptions.
- we support 10 languages and translated lot of program descriptions
- we started making video reviews of applications with professional voice artists. Video reviews explain the software and make it easier for customers to make purchase decision.
- we are working on worldwide SMS payment integration, to make purchase simple for everyone.
And we have highly flexible white label AppStore platform for carriers, handset manufacturers and other distributors.
Video review of MiniTranscanada as found on Handster (don’t ask why we chose this one
)
Unfortunately, though we have seen a lot of appstore launched lately, none of them seems to be getting the level of success that Apple and iPhone developers have. Do you think we’ll see such a success coming to other platforms?
Android already shows a similar success. Apple AppStore generates up to 9USD per user/month, Andoid around 8 USD as recent reviews show - so that is close.
We believe that other platforms will catch up with them after some time.
As you support multiple platforms on Handster, do you have any insights in terms of where should developers concentrate their efforts?
We are neutral and welcome success of any platform.
You say you work with HP and LG to give them content for their stores, how does it work? If more people get on the way doesn’t it mean less money for developers?
Apple has a special situation, where they own hardware, OS and are able to push their conditions to mobile operators.
But in general, you should make everyone happy - and mobile operators and handset manufacturers should participate in the success of AppStores.
We see potential for us in this area and offer white label AppStore platform for mobile operators and handset manufacturers.
That, of course, makes a developer’s share smaller, but what matters in the end is the paycheck that they receive.
We offer software developers stronger discoverability and promotion of their applications on AppStores of our partners - this is an additional revenue channel for them.
What’s your view on application testing and certification? How long is Handster certification process?
We test applications of new software developers, and once we are sure about their quality, we basically allow to publish updates and new apps live anytime.
Depending on a partner (carrier, handset manufacturer), we sometimes do re-testing for a particular handset and offer only compatible software.
Where do you think appstores in general have to improve?
More payment options, better discoverability of applications, quality content.
And finally, what is going to be your challenge in the coming months?
We are actively looking for more partners among mobile operators and handset manufacturers from one side, to offer them a white label AppStore platform and aggregated content.
And we are looking for more software developers, to distribute their apps through our channels. Developers can register with Handster using this link: http://www.handster.com/developers.php
Thank you Victor!
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Thanks for the insight details, quite interesting both for mobile software users but also for developers.
Victor, I can only say good luck with your project, I really like Handster, and the quality work of your team, and I think it is one of the best software distribution channels already.
R.M.