Verizon Skype Mobile In Stores: Cast Apps Store To Match iTunes

Verizon’s customers have two reasons to celebrate this summer. Skype Mobile hit stores today and Verizon Wireless finally plans to launch its Cast Apps store by the end of this month. The company promises that now Skype-to-Skype calls will be a better quality experience. The venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc also said that consumers buying applications from the store would be able to pay for apps through their cellphone bill, making it easier than other app stores where a separate account is needed.

Verizon Wireless is entering a well recognized market where device makers such as Blackberry maker Research in Motion and companies such as Apple Inc and Google Inc already operate rival app stores for users of Apple’s iPhone and phones based on Google’s Android software. But still having Skype in your handsets will always be an added advantage because it will enable you to make voice calls, send instant messages, call international phone numbers at competitive Skype calling rates with other Skype customers, while maintaining the contact list on your phone itself. The application will be available for the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Curve 8330, Curve 8530, 8830 World Edition, and Tour 9630 smart phones, as well as the Motorola Droid and Devour and HTC Eris.

Coming back to Apps store, the store was originally scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2009, but Verizon delayed the timing to ensure that all aspects of the venture were in place before going live. Apple debuted the App Store in July 2008, and since then a raft of handset makers, carriers and other tech companies have jumbled to catch up with their own app stores, including Google, Nokia, Microsoft and Research in Motion. Apple remains the principal player, offering more than 150,000 apps and boasting 3 billion downloads to date. In a report released earlier this week, mobile analytics firm Flurry estimated that downloads of paid gaming apps for the iPhone brought in $500 million for Apple last year. We just wish Verizon also earns a good sum by introducing two basic tech-news.

Tags: cast app store, handsets, quality experience, research in motion, skype, verizon wireless, voice calls