A Facebook Desktop App On Pokki
SweetLabs, formerly known as OpenCandy, has launched a new cross-platform app technology that brings the user experience of mobile apps to PCs.
The new app platform, Pokki, starts on the Windows platform and could eventually move to the Mac platform taking onApple’s Mac App Store. Pokki already is positioned as an alternative to Google’s Chrome Web Store.
Pokki apps run on the desktop in a small bar on the bottom left of a PC’s screen. They can be quickly launched with one-click, similar to mobile apps. They have mobile-like features such as real-time notifications and one-click installation through the Pokki store.
The apps are built on Chromium web technology such as HTML5, CSS and Javascript, which makes it easier for web developers to build apps for the desktop. The skills required to build web sites are generally different from what’s required for building say iPhone apps. Now web developers can built these desktop apps using skills they already know. Developers also get distribution through Pokki’s app store. Because the apps live on the desktop they are more accessible than bookmarks on a browser, which could give developers more mindshare with consumers.
“We’re making it really easy to install apps just like on a mobile phone,” says Chester Ng, co-founder and head of business development at SweetLabs, “And we’re making it easy to create and distribute desktop apps.”
Pokki Store
Pokki is launching with several apps that run services such as eBay, Facebook, Gmail, LivingSocial and The Wall Street Journal. Because the apps pull from web APIs, the services can–and many of them are–built by third party developers not the companies themselves.
Apple has its own app store for the iPhone and now has a Mac App Store for its desktop apps. Meanwhile Google has its own Web Store for Chrome. However, the apps in Apple’s Mac App Store are not built on HTML, they’re like normal desktop software, which makes it hard for web developers to build them, says Ng. And the Chrome Web Store requires people by definition to use Chrome, whereas Pokki works across all PCs.
Microsoft itself does not have an app store per se–beyond Windows itself, though that again is not easily accessible to web developers. Adobe’s Air technology was intended to provide a cross-platform technology for building desktop apps, but the Flash-based technology has been criticized by the likes of Apple.
“What Apple did for the phone we’re trying to do for the desktop,” Ng says. “With the Chrome web store you’re trapped in the browser and can only use the apps if you use Chrome and if (Chrome) is open.”
When you first use Pokki the service installs a Pokki icon on your desktop. After that whenever you install a Pokki app, it can be done in one click. With the Pokki Gmail app for example, you can read and compose email directly in the app. Because it’s built on web technologies it was built in only three weeks, Ng says.
The company is starting with PC-based app store but will eventually seek to launch the service on other platforms such as Mac since it is HTML5 based it is all cross-platform. SweetLabs is not currently monetizing the Pokki apps but charging for apps seems to be an eventual move.
For developers, the opportunity to be always available on a users’ desktop could be an attractive proposition. Daily deals sites, for example would have another way to market to customers besides email and mobile apps. Social gaming companies would have a way for users to play their games outside of the browser, and outside of Facebook. If social games are addictive now, how addictive would they be when that icon of your favorite game is always staring you in the face?
SweetLabs has just changed its name from OpenCandy because of its launch of the new Pokki product. SweetLabs is still maintaining its OpenCandy business, which is an ad network for helping software companies get downloads and monetization. When someone downloads software from a website, OpenCandy suggests other similar software to download. The service has provided 350 million downloads.
The company has raised $8.5 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Google Ventures, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Jordan Greenhall.
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