Verizon Wireless used its Verizon Developer Community (VDC) Conference this week to restate its support for the app developer community, having been criticised by some observers for suffering from a telcoesque slowness in progress. Greg Haller (pictured), vice president of Consumer Solutions at Verizon Wireless, admitted that the company has been on a steep learning curve over the past twelve months, but that now “we are done with excuses, and we’re done with delays.” Several references were made to pace: Haller said that “we are committed to providing developers with the best platforms, the best tools and the best opportunities to bring their apps to market quickly and profitably”, and the operator noted that apps using its APIs can be brought to market “in as few as 14 days”.
With the planned addition of Android support to the V CAST Apps store alongside BlackBerry, the number of devices capable of downloading products is set to “triple” by the Christmas 2010 holiday sales period, although it was not stated how this is measured – for example by number of handset models, or volume of devices sold. Verizon addressed the fact that it has launched its own store for Android and BlackBerry products when there are already established sales channels for the platforms by arguing that its store will offer consumers “choice, opportunity, simplicity and competition.” It said the move is not about closing out alternative stores or apps which can be run directly from the browser, although Haller did state that, with its own activities, the company will play something of a gatekeeper role – “we are not going to let anything that does not work for our customers hit the network.” A set of guidelines has already been published concerning submissions to V CAST Apps.
As part of the increase in pace of its developer activities, Verizon Wireless has made available 20 application programming interfaces (APIs), which will allow the creation of apps which use a number of network features, starting with location and messaging capabilities –which Haller said is “just the beginning.” The messaging APIs will allow developers to create apps which send and receive SMS and MMS messages, while the location APIs, available in “coarse” and “refined” forms depending on handset capabilities, enable the delivery of geo-targeted content. While the APIs are being circulated at VDC, in a statement the company said that “some entities” have already been testing and integrating with products.
At the event, it was announced that weather information company WeatherBug has made available an API for developers building mobile web applications or native BlackBerry and Android applications for the V CAST Apps store. The company said that it has worked with Verizon Wireless as its “preferred and primary weather information provider for the past three years, and has recently extended its relationship,” being the exclusive or default weather platform for the operator’s WAP, SMS and MMS services.
As with many operator-focused events, Verizon trumpeted the benefits of telco billing, one of the key differentiators these companies have over stores such as Android Market and BlackBerry App World. Haller says that “carrier billing lets us take some of these operational issues, and let you concentrate on what you do best: creating super apps.” The company also made several references to its LTE rollout, with Haller stating: “what is coming next is really fast and really amazing. And what is coming next is 4G LTE.” It was promised that the technology will enable apps which are “quite spectacular.”
The operator also promoted the range of tools available to its developers, including its support for in-apps analytics products from Ground Truth, to provide aggregate demographics data about the customer base; push notification technology from Urban Airship, to enable developers to deliver real-time mobile messaging and content to subscribers across device platforms; and “self service” application development technology from Mobile Roadie, which Verizon said enables users to build and manage their own applications using drag-and-drop tools. Verizon also said that it is working with Animetrics for 2D and 3D facial recognition technology; PayPal for one-touch billing and in-app payments; and PrinterOn for mobile printing solutions.
Separately, location-based technology company Geodelic used the event to debut its GeoGudies platform, which it said enables brands to create smartphone guides which “engage consumers at specific locations,” for example to deliver information related to specific cities, museums, hotels, tourist attractions or “other special interest destinations.” The company says that Verizon Ventures, the venture capital arm of Verizon Communications, was a participant in its Series B funding round, which was completed in the second quarter of 2010.
Finally, Verizon debuted its new NAVBuilder Inside software development kit, delivered in partnership with TeleCommunication Systems, which supports cross-platform app creation for Android and BlackBerry, as well as Brew and Windows Mobile. It is said to give developers an easy way to add location-based services to apps across operating systems, including the ability to integrate with the operator’s VZ Navigator direction services.
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