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Last updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2008

As it heads toward the release of a new operating system next month, Palm has launched a version of its online store to allow direct downloads and purchases from Palm’s mobile devices. Palm’s Software Store offers a catalog in excess of 5,000 software titles, including games, which Palm users can buy and download on their mobile devices. In its previous incarnation, Palm owners needed to download an app or game to a computer, and then transfer the software from the computer to the mobile device. Palm OS and Windows Mobile Palm’s mobile store supports more than 25 Palm devices, including the Centro and Treo Pro, and about 20 percent of the available titles are free. Applications are available for both the current Palm OS and Palm devices that run Windows Mobile. To access the store, a Palm user must install free mobile-store software on the device. App stores for mobile devices are all the rage. Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod is the best known, but Android-based phones have a marketplace for third-party software, and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is expected to launch one in the first quarter of 2009. Michael Gartenberg, vice president for consumer strategy at Jupitermedia, said Apple showed with its App Store that “a direct channel between third-party developers and the consumer is a good thing.” He added that the growing number of direct-channel stores will be the scene of a “huge battle in 2009″ as the various platforms try to attract developers and the best applications. Gartenberg predicted that the apps available in these stores will increasingly factor into consumers’ decisions when buying a new mobile device. The Approaching Nova The mobile version of its Software Store could help Palm reposition itself. Palm is hoping to regain at least some of its reputation for innovation as it…

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Palm’s App Store Now Available on Its Mobile Devices

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