That elusive local app store

FOR THE MOMENT, the spat between Google and home-grown startups over the delisting of their apps from the PlayStore,seems to have been resolved.

- JATIN GROVER

But no one really believes the dust will settle; the monopoly that the Big Tech firms command is causing much heartburn. Between them, Google and Apple control the operating systems on which startups list their apps and users pay for any in-app purchases. With a 95% share Google is in a commanding position; its Android system is an open source one unlike Apple's IoS.

Developers would kill for some choice. But the homegrown startups that have attempted to create an alternative ecosystem-they continue to do so-have been largely unsuccessful.

For instance, the government made an effort to get a desi app store by launching mSeva app store in 2013. However, few Indian start-ups have on-boarded it.

Experts point out the absence of partnerships with phone makers, has limited the pre-installation of mSeva on devices; therefore, few users are able to access it. Others say the userinterface is not well designed and moreover, that the store hasn't been marketed well enough.

As such, more than a decade later, it has remained a non-starter. Anupam Mittal, CEO and founder, Shaadi.com, experimented with Mobango but that didn't meet with any success. Mittal claims that while Mobango did well for a couple of years, Google marred the user experience.

"Every time a user tried to download from our store, there would be an alert that there could be a security risk," he claims. "Which user will download an app when Google says that?" The problem, he says, is that Google controls the operating system, so it can spoil the user experience for any alternative app store.