NTT DoCoMo adding an app store to i-mode

It looks like NTT DoCoMo is learning a lesson that phone manufacturers have been learning for the past couple years now: people like to shop for apps. Lots of them, in fact. Indeed, Japan's largest carrier appears to be feeling some heat from rival SoftBank's iPhone exclusive and from the sundry Android devices popping up on all the domestic networks (DoCoMo included), saying that it'll be adding some sort of third-party app platform with revenue sharing to its i-mode service attached to the featurephones that comprise most of its product lineup -- a lineup used by over 50 million of its subscribers. Of course, i-mode already offers apps, so it's not exactly clear this is all going to play out; if we had to guess, it amounts to a lowering of the bar for average developers to get their wares into the ecosystem. There doesn't seem to be a timeline set for the launch just yet, so in the meantime, we suppose you'll just need to keep enjoying your one-seg TV and your 1080p video recording. Poor babies!