PocketGear has announced its acquisition of Handango, combining the two mobile app services and offering a centralized outlet for more than 140,000 applications. Both sites are still being maintained separately.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that “app stores” exist outside of the iPhone galaxy. Some mobile users have to turn to external Web sites to cull through the piles of unorganized cell phone applications that were available. That’s where sites like PocketGear and Handango come in.
Users can browse through a selection of apps for Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Adroid operating systems. PocketGear also offers downloads for Java-based games for other handsets. The sites take a reported 40% cut of all sales.
During the early 2000s, sites like PocketGear were soaring as mobile phone users began seeking out more and more apps for their devices. It wasn’t until the iPhone that there was a streamlined and organized listing of applications available directly from the operating system.
PocketGear already owns other sites including Mobile2Day, Smartphone.net, and OS-specific storefronts (SymbianGear, RIMGear, AndroidGear, and PalmGear).
