Opera Mobile Store

History

On March 8, 2011, Opera Software announced the launch of Opera Mobile Store powered by third-party provider. On September 19, 2011, Opera Software acquired app store platform company Handster, which was the leading independent applications store for Android market at that time. name="Opera Mobile Store site" |access-date = 12 December 2012

Following the acquisition of Handster, Opera Software made a major overhaul since the Opera Mobile Store launch. name="Opera Mobile Store relaunch" |access-date = December 12, 2012

On November 18, 2014, Microsoft and Opera Software have signed an agreement to replace Nokia Store with the Opera Mobile Store as the default app store for Nokia feature phones, Symbian and Nokia X smartphones.{{cite news |access-date = March 24, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150222041337/http://developer.nokia.com/blogs/news/successful-migration-from-nokia-store-to-opera-mobile-store |archive-date = 22 February 2015 name="Nokia Store migration to Opera Mobile Store" |access-date = March 24, 2015

Number of downloaded applications

As stated in the official Opera Software press-release, by February 27, 2012, Opera Mobile Store reached more than 30 million monthly app store visits and over 45 million monthly app downloads.

Number of apps in the store has tripled over the year 2013, while the number of monthly visitors to the Opera's app distribution platform grew to 75 million in October, 2013. name="The Next Web 75m" |access-date = February 6, 2014

At the end of Q4 2013 Opera Software announced that it has reached a new milestone — 105 million monthly visitors. That is a 172% increase in a year since the close of 2012. The top-three countries in 2013 based on the number of Opera Mobile Store users were India, the United States and Indonesia. By November, 2014 Opera's app store started to offer close to 300,000 mobile apps and games across most mobile platforms. Earlier, in early 2014 the mobile store offered over 200,000 name="Opera Software 100 million press-release" |access-date = January 28, 2014

Most popular apps

Top 100 apps lists are compiled separately for each country with an Opera Mobile Store presence. The lists feature 17 categories, ranging from business apps to games for every platform supported by the Opera Mobile Store, consisting of the most popular apps among the store users in the selected category.

Application ratings

Currently, the Opera Mobile Store does not rate applications; instead, the OMS team ether accepts apps submitted for inclusion into the store or rejects them, based on whether their content is appropriate for a wide age group, and keeping objectionable apps out of the store.

App submission process

Opera Mobile Store does not charge developers for joining mobile store's distribution program and publishing apps. Developers get 70% of net revenue from sales of paid apps for Android accepted into the Opera Mobile Store, and 50% of net revenue for Java apps.

App approval process

Applications are subject to approval by Opera Mobile Store team for basic reliability testing on all the platforms and devices declared by developer in submission process. Opera Mobile Store does not accept adult and sexual content.

Opera Top App Awards

Every year Opera Mobile Store runs Top Apps Awards. These awards recognize the best apps in the Opera Mobile Store across multiple categories based on popular user voting. name="Top Apps Awards"{{cite press release |access-date = December 12, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121221030014/http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2012/12/12/ |archive-date = December 21, 2012 |url-status = dead name="2012 Top Apps Awards"{{cite web |access-date = December 12, 2012 |archive-date = January 18, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130118102639/http://apps.opera.com/en_ua/awards |url-status = dead

Partnerships

In 2013 Opera Mobile Store signed a cross-app store distribution partnership with Yandex, the largest search engine in the Russian-speaking Internet market and the leading search engine in Eastern Europe, based on audience reach. This agreement allows apps in the Opera Mobile Store also to be available for download in the Yandex app store and vice versa. The same year Opera Software signed several more partnership agreements with mobile carriers in Eastern Europe. Both MTS Belarus and MTS Ukraine launched Opera co-branded app stores for their 28 million total user base.

Opera Subscription Mobile Store

Starting July 21, 2014 Opera Software started to offer service that provides mobile carriers' customers with unlimited access to premium games and apps catalogue built on the Opera Mobile Store technology and supported by the OMS team. The first carrier to implement app store subscription model for their customers was MTS Russia that launched App Market service together with Opera. In this model mobile users pay a weekly subscription fee for "all-you-can-eat" access after a free seven-day trial period. name="Opera and MTS Russia launch App Market store" |access-date = November 21, 2014 name="Opera Subscription Mobile Store launch" |access-date = December 3, 2014 name="Opera Mobile Store + TIM Brasil" |access-date = December 3, 2014

One Platform Foundation

In May 2013 Opera and Yandex announced together with SlideME and CodeNgo the launch and provided support for a new open-source One Platform Foundation (OPF) initiative, enabling developers to easily code and submit their apps across multiple alternative app stores. name="OPF The Next Web news" |access-date = February 6, 2014

Similar services

Main article: List of mobile app distribution platforms

References

References

1. [https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/25/yandex-releases-its-50000-app-alt-android-store-upgrades-yandex-shell-3d-ui-to-target-small-handset-makers-carriers/ Yandex Courts Handset Makers, Carriers With New Android App Store And 3D Skins]. [[TechCrunch]]. Retrieved on 2013-11-21.