Vodafone India announces its Mobile App Store

The official Vodafone press release states that Vodafone Mobile Application store was started on 15th February, 2010 in India along with global partners Arvato Mobile, a leading global digital content logistics and service delivery platform provider.

However, India’s leading cellular services providers, Vodafone has confirmed its Mobile App Store launch revealing that its App Store has already seen thousands of downloads of applications by enthused customers since its launch.

Kumar Ramanathan, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Essar said, "We are delighted to launch the Vodafone Mobile application store which combines an array of facilities for our customers including easy access to information, utilities and entertainment. The mobile applications are affordable and a significant step forward in the growth of mobile data and the future of Mobile internet in India."

Until now, Mobile App Stores, by and large, were untapped domain for the mobile operators in India compared to their global counterparts. But in the recent times, most of the leading Indian mobile operators are foraying into this domain. Earlier, it was Airtel that announced its app store launch, Aircel-Infosys tie-up for a proposed app store launch and now Vodafone India has something similar to offer. Reliance India too is reportedly planning to launch its App Store very soon.

The Vodafone Mobile App store will offer over 800 applications under various categories like Entertainment, Utility, Finance, Social Networking, Games, etc. The company states that the Vodafone Mobile application store will be regularly updated and applications will be added continuously.

Vodafone Mobile App Store is now available to customers through data enabled handsets. To avail this service, users can send a message APP to 111 (toll free). Otherwise, users can access the store via portal Vodafone live! by clicking a link on the home page. Vodafone India offers over 15% of applications free of charge while the majority of paid apps are slated to be in the price range of Rs. 5 to Rs. 30.