Telstra, an Australian carrier, recently announced their intent to launch the app store concept for their subscriber base.  Russ McGuire provided a link to an article over at GigaOM on this topic.  The article is worth a quick read, but I think the comments are even more interesting.  Basically the comments reflect people mulling over what is really different in this announcement than what happens already.

In today’s world most, if not all, carriers have a web store that allows their users to download content.  This includes ring tones, wallpaper, music, video, and applications (generally games).  A user purchases the content through the carrier storefront, and they are billed for that content by the carrier.  I too am not sure what is really different here.  It seems to me Telstra is simply trying to capitalize on the buzz surrounding app stores right now.  There certainly isn’t anything wrong with this, but I don’t see it as a game changer in any way.

What we are witnessing right now is a huge rush for many companies to take advantage of Apple’s success with their App Store.  Basically all of the device manufacturers are jumping in.  In the case of Android and Microsoft, the organizations responsible for the operating systems are jumping in as well.  This is good in that folks will now be able to find applications for their devices.  This will help the shift to devices becoming more than just phones.

I expect we will see more carriers ride the wave in the near term.  I would if I were them.  However, consolidation will come. It has too.  I’d be curious what others think about this.