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Verizon Wireless today announced that starting in January it will kill its self-branded app store, which is installed on BlackBerry and Android devices.
Launched back in March 2010, the app store has mostly played second fiddle to Google Play on Android smartphones and tablets. Viewed as bloatware by a sizable segment of users, it pales in comparison, when it comes to selection, to even the Amazon Appstore or Getjar.
Even with some improvements over time, it has not been able to keep pace with Google’s official distribution channel. In fact, even Verizon is quick to point out that a majority of the apps offered through its branded app store are also available through Google Play and other models.
The process of shuttering the app store begins at the start of the new year when Big Red ships new devices that do not have the application loaded. Then, the app will disappear from existing devices over the course of a few months.
Verizon plans to have everything wrapped up by March 27, 2013. More details can be found on Verizon’s developer blog.
