With the countdown on for the mid-year debut of Samsung’s Bada-powered Wave smartphone, the Korean colossus is looking for local code-cutters and content.
Samsung has begun a concerted effort to woo Australian app developers in the lead-up to the local launch of its Samsung Apps store.
While the online store is already running as a Symbian shop in a half-dozen countries – including the UK, France, Germany, Singapore and China – the mid-year debut will see the first wave of apps written for Samsung’s new Linux-based Bada OS.
The Bada-powered
Samsung Wave smartphone will be launched simultaneously with the opening of the local Samsung Apps hub.
“We want to work with developers to create locally-relevant apps in the Australian marketplace”, Tyler McGee, Vice President of Telecommunications for Samsung Australia, told APC.
“We want to be sure that when we launch Samsung Apps in line with Wave we have locally relevant content.”
McGee says Samsung will be particularly on the lookout for “hero developers”, but he’s not expecting Bada apps to be created from scratch and indicated that ports from platforms such as the iPhone would be welcome.
“Some of those apps could already be in the market place – you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”
McGee has also appointed Jenny Goodridge, the highly-regarded head of marketing for Samsung Australia’s Telecommunications Division, to the newly-created role of Head of Content & Retention where she will manage the launch and ongoing operations of Samsung Apps in Australia.