WAC
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Mobile app store WAC gets whacked: sells assets, is absorbed into GSMA
After struggling for over two years to get its mobile app store off the ground, the Wholesale Applications Community has decided to give up on its efforts, selling its assets and calling it a day. Established by the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Vodafone, the GSMA has agreed to continue offering the service to its membership, although its relatively recent payments system API (an asset that's now being sold off) might prove to be one of the last additions.
MeeGo to be folded into Linux-based Tizen OS, slated to arrive in 2012
The future of Meego has become a little clearer this morning, now that the Linux Foundation has announced that it'll be replaced with Tizen -- a new Linux-based, open-source OS. Samsung and Intel have been tapped to lead the development of the platform, in collaboration with the LiMo Foundation -- a consortium of companies including Panasonic Mobile Communications, NTT DoCoMo and SK Telecom, among others. According to its stewards, Tizen will support HTML5- and WAC-based apps and will be designed to run across a wide spectrum of devices, including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-car infotainment systems. The MeeGo project, for its part, already seems to be on board with the initiative, promising to "make sure that users of MeeGo can easily transition to Tizen," while assisting MeeGo developers, as well. The new OS is slated for release during the first quarter of 2012, with the first Tizen-laced devices scheduled to hit the market around the middle of next year. For more details, hit up the source link below, or trek past the break for the full PR.
Twenty-four telecom operators unite to form Wholesale Applications Community
Big doings over in Barcelona today. Twenty-four telecom operators, with the support of the GSMA and three major hardware manufacturers, have formally announced they will come together to form the Wholesale Applications Community. Essentially, the goal of the alliance will be to create a viable, cohesive and open industry platform for mobile app developers. Members of the Community will include AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, TeliaSonera, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone among others, and they'll be supported in their endeavors by LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. The total customers of the group is about 3 billion, giving WAC (our name) some considerable -- albeit theoretical for the moment -- power. The group plans to work on coming up with a standard for working across platforms over the next twelve months. WAC's website just went live a bit ago -- there's a link to it below -- and the full press release is after the break.
