Dunno, but for-pay apps not endorsed by the carriers have been around forever. S...

jmtulloss · on Aug 12, 2009

And nobody used them.

The app store has changed mobile application delivery forever. If you want proof, look at the recent moves by all 4 of the examples given.

jrockway · on Aug 12, 2009

I doubt the App Store matters. People loved the iPhone before there were apps, remember?

Palm OS, Windows Mobile, etc., etc., died because they fucking sucked, not because there was no single app store.