Verizon Wireless has done a U-turn and will abandon its walled garden approach to mobile content.
The operator, hitherto recognised as the most protective of all the US carriers, said it will publish SDKs early next year that will enable developers to design software, applications and devices that can run on its network. It hopes to activate them by the end of next year.John Stratton, chief marketing officer for Verizon, told reporters he expects all manner of specialist devices to emerge, beyond the ‘traditional’ mobile. "It's subject to imagination," he said. "It encourages anyone who wants to get in the game to get in the game." It’s not clear yet what the implications are for Verizon’s BREW-only Get It Now content store.
Many observers believe the re-think has been accelerated by Google’s rush into the space with its open-standards software platform Android, and maybe even Sprint’s similarly open WiMax network Xohm.
Verizon has built a $20m facility for the testing of the expected third party apps – and will run a conference next year to explain its strategy.
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