This list of mobile app distribution platforms includes
digital distribution
Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other s ...
platforms, or marketplace '
app store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
s', that are intended to provide
mobile applications, aka 'apps' to
mobile device
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physica ...
s. For information on each mobile platform and its market share, see the
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablet computer, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal computing, personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobi ...
and
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...
articles. A comparison of development capabilities of each mobile platform can be found in the article
mobile app development. For cross-platform development, see
mobile development framework
A mobile development framework is a software framework that is designed to support mobile app development. It is a software library that provides a fundamental structure to support the development of applications for a specific environment.
Fram ...
. The
mobile software
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...
article contains other general information.
Mobile app platforms
Native platforms
These application marketplaces, or 'm' are native to the major mobile operating systems.
There are native mobile app distribution platforms currently on this list.
;Notes:
Third-party platforms
Third-party
platforms are
software distribution platforms which are used as alternatives for
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...
native distribution platforms.
Independent operating systems are software collections which use their own software distribution, customised
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
(UI),
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
(SDK) and
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
(API) (except billing API which is related only to application store).
There are third-party mobile app distribution platforms currently on this list.
See also
*
Cloud gaming
Cloud gaming, sometimes called gaming on demand or gaming-as-a-service or game streaming, is a type of online gaming that runs video games on remote servers and streams them directly to a user's device, or more colloquially, playing a game rem ...
*
Mobile application management
Mobile application management (MAM) describes the software and services responsible for provisioning and controlling access to internally developed and commercially available mobile apps used in business settings, on both company-provided and 'bri ...
*
Mobile content management system A mobile content management system (MCMs) is a type of content management system (CMS) capable of storing and delivering content and services to mobile devices, such as mobile phones, smart phones, and PDAs. Mobile content management systems may be ...
*
Mobile device management
Mobile device management (MDM) is the administration of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops. MDM is usually implemented with the use of a third-party product that has management features for particular vendors of m ...
*
List of Mobile Device Management software
This is a list of Mobile Device Management software.
General information
Discontinued
These are the discontinued Mobile Device Management solutions:
* Good Technology - acquired by BlackBerry on November 2, 2015.
* McAfee EMM - discontinued si ...
*
Mobile security
Mobile security, or mobile device security, is the protection of smartphones, tablets, and laptops from threats associated with wireless computing. It has become increasingly important in mobile computing. The security of personal and business ...
*
Over-the-air programming
Over-the-air programming (OTA programming) refers to various methods of distributing new software, configuration settings, and even updating encryption keys to devices like mobile phones, set-top boxes, electric cars or secure voice communication ...
References
Device platform references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobile App Distribution Platforms, List Of
Mobile telecommunications
Computing-related lists
Internet-related lists