App Store concept around the globe is widely perceived to be providing a avenue to handset players to generate new revenues. But the India market differs drastically from this trend as here it is the service providers who are lining up their own App Stores. While the concept is still at a nascent stage in India, Qualcomm is eyeing a big opportunity in the space.

To push its BREW platform further, the company is eying tie-ups with handset manufacturers and service providers. It aims to work closely with players to offer competitively priced 3G smartphone catering to mass market.

“Our move to make 3G smartphone available to mass market will compel other players to lower the price point and ultimately the end-user will benefit out of this. It is a proactive move to gear up for the opportunity to be offered post entry of 3G in the country,” says Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Americas & India, Qualcomm while speaking to TelecomTiger.

The tie-up with HTC and Bharti Airtel is among the initial initiatives in lines with the company’s focus on App Stores. While the BREW platform before this deal was known to be catering to CDMA ecosystem with Tata Teleservices running most of its VAS on Qualcomm’s platform, the deal with Bharti Airtel-HTC allows BREW to reach out to GSM subscribers.

“In an App Store environment, the end-user experience assumes prime importance. Our BREW platform offers a one-stream browsing experience ensuing enhanced end-user experience. The platform has consistently developed over the last 10 years,” adds Kanwalinder Singh, President, Qualcomm India & South Asia.

According to the company while there are sub Rs 10,000 smartphones available in the market, the main difference with its offering is that it is pitching 3G smartphones and not 2G smartphones.

Qualcomm is certainly betting big on the 3G opportunity in India.