Telenor launches localised Android app stores

International mobile operator Telenor has teamed up with Google to launch a bespoke Android app store for its customers.

The operator will offer Android users in its 11 territories access to a portal within Android Market that contains a suite of apps tailored to their local market. The app suite will sit inside a fixed destination on the front page of Android Market, in a store-within-a-store concept.

The apps on offer will be selected by a local Telenor editorial team of Telenor’s in each market, due to their relevance to the local market. It will offer up to 50 apps, will be continuously updated and apps will be payable through the operator, which Telenor claims is crucial in driving app adoption.

Users will be able to pay for apps via prepaid or postpaid subscriptions. This will enable local developers to generate more revenue from their apps, according to Telenor, which said that industry data shows that, given the option of paying via credit card or operator billing, approximately 70 per cent prefer the latter.

The new store will be launched in Thailand, Malaysia, Hungary, Sweden and Denmark in the first quarter of 2012. It will then be rolled out to Telenor’s remaining global markets, India, Bangladesh, Serbia, Montenegro, Pakistan and Norway, later in the year.

“This deal between Google and Telenor is designed to inject even more energy into the Android ecosystem. Most importantly, it means that millions of Telenor customers will experience easier access to more and richer mobile content, as well as flexible payment solutions,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and CEO of Telenor Group.