abney associates article reference number 85258081704 A&A
Yandex today announced that it has banded together with Opera Software, SlideME and CodeNgo to kick off and support a new ‘open-source’ initiative dubbed the One Platform Foundation (OPF).
According to its boiler plate, the OPF wants to “help the Android ecosystem evolve by enabling developers to easily code and submit their apps across multiple alternative application stores”.
In case you didn’t know, Opera and Yandex are among Google’s prime competitors in the mobile browser space, and the latter company in particular has been ruffling the Mountain View-based Internet search giant’s feathers in numerous other ways.
Android marketplaces represent another battlefield.
One of OPF’s first projects is AppDF (short for App Description File), a format that allows developers to describe their Android applications in one file and publish it to multiple app stores in one fell swoop.
The AppDF format is for now supported by Yandex.Store, Opera Mobile Store, SlideME and CodeNgo. The OPF says all app stores are welcome to join the movement, and some are already looking into it.
Victor Shaburov, VP of Storefront Services at Opera Software, says:
“AppDF is a great tool that allows cross-store app submission. It simplifies the work of developers a lot and is set to drive them a lot of new users.”
Chris Jones, co-founder of self-publishing platform CodeNgo, added:
“We believe that AppDF will significantly lower the obstacles for developers trying to monetize their apps and also enable a healthier alternative app store ecosystem.”
(Also read: InMobi offers Android developers a free way to distribute their apps to 130+ stores)
Another project from the OPF initiative is OpenIAB (short for Open In-App Billing), a library that allows Android app developers to support in-app billing APIs of multiple application stores with a single piece of code.

abney associates article reference number 85258081704 A&A