Openwave Systems Inc, a global software innovator delivering context-aware mediation and messaging solutions, today announced a collaboration with GetJar, the world?s largest open app store. According to the agreement, Openwave will integrate its Openwave Amplicity platform with GetJar?s app catalog and publishing interface. Amplicity was designed to help developers leverage mobile operator network assets to more rapidly distribute and monetize apps within the browser. The partnership allows developers to write apps once and publish them in a single step across multiple platforms and across operators.

Amplicity integrates with GetJar?s publisher interface to create a floating toolbar on the subscriber screen that can be populated with applications without having to download them to the handset. This toolbar allows operators to simplify the application discovery and distribution process for users by seamlessly and non-intrusively presenting a set of relevant applications to the user within their browsing experience.  Because the apps run in the browser, the user does not have to download, install, and manage these apps.

Mobile developers are challenged by the fragmented process required to distribute their applications.  Even within the same operating system, there could be multiple versions as platforms continue to evolve and users update their operating systems at varying times.  And the variety of hardware form factors and capabilities ? from smartphones to new entrants like tablets and other mobile-capable devices ? make it difficult to ensure that apps will port from one device to another.  The Openwave/GetJar solution gives developers a powerful platform-agnostic alternative with a much larger distribution footprint. They can write Web-based apps that leverage HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript and publish to them to multiple platforms through GetJar. This joint solution also helps to unlock new monetization models enabled by operators and advertisers.

?In the past developers had been limited by platform restrictions and it often did not make financial sense to write an application multiple times to different platform types,? said Chris Dury, COO at GetJar. ?The Openwave Amplicity/GetJar solution provides an alternate distribution model for developers to write their apps one time and widely distribute them through GetJar?s apps store and publishing interface and maximize their monetization opportunities across operators.?

?Openwave is delighted by this collaboration with GetJar and what it means to both operators and developers alike,? said Dan Nguyen, vice president of product management, Openwave. ?Operator assets have always been valuable, but have yet to be properly leveraged by ecosystem players. We believe that Openwave and GetJar will help operators to re-insert themselves back into the data path while providing new revenue models for application developers.?

Openwave Amplicity

Openwave Amplicity is an operator-facing platform  that helps enable developers to leverage operator network assets to rapidly develop and deploy applications within the browser.

The Openwave Amplicity/GetJar solution is expected to be available in the second quarter of calendar 2011.