The Google Chrome Web Store, the search giant’s iTunes-battling app store, is due to open its virtual doors in October. The search giant announced it back at Google I/O in May but now it’s getting into details. In a presentation at Game Developer Conference Europe, it outed more images of the store (which looks a lot like iTunes) and revealed its plan to lure developers into developing web apps for the store. Read on for the skinny on the Google Chrome Web Store…
The most interesting bit of news about the Google Chrome Web Store is that Google won’t be taking a big slice of the cash made by developers. Unlike the iTunes App Store and Google’s own Android Market, there won’t be a 70/30 split between the developers and Google. Instead, Google is simply going to charge a 5% processing fee for putting apps in the Google Chrome Web Store. That’s a smart move to persuade developers to jump on board and promote their web apps.
The Google Chrome Web Store presentation also reveals that it will support free trials, subscriptions to web apps (opening the possibility for web versions of apps like the Wired iPad app) and in-app payments. When the store opens, you’ll be able to grab web apps from anywhere in the world through Google Chrome using Google Checkout but the pricing will initially be in dollars. In-app payments and international currencies like our beloved British Pound are set to be added in early 2011.
Apps will apparently be auto-approved for the Google Chrome Web Store. Just like iTunes, each app will have a profile with customer reviews and it seems the store will tap into Gmail or Google Buzz to show the apps your friends like.
We heard previously that the Google Chrome Web Store will use HTML5, Flash and a whole collection of other standards. When you download apps, they’ll be added as shortcuts in Chrome and the Chrome OS but will also work in other browsers. Previous demos showed an HTML5 version of Plants vs Zombies, a Sports Illustrated app and Lego Star Wars.
Let us know: can you see yourself grabbing web apps from the Google Chrome Web Store? Or is this one app store too far?
