Intel has decided to close the doors to AppUp, and here is what they had to say about the situation. “At Intel, we’re always thinking about the future, which often means making changes today. That’s why, on March 11th, 2014, Intel AppUp center will come to a close as we focus on developing new and exciting PC innovations that will continue to shape your world. As excited as we are about the future projects, we know AppUp is important to you. For questions about AppUp‘s closure, please visit our updated FAQ section with links to guided support to answer your questions.” You will be able to drop by the FAQ page if you have any further questions or want to know more about the situation. First launched in 2010, the AppUp store was meant to be a Windows app superstore to help out the likes of Ultrabooks, and manufacturers can choose to pre-install it in Atom-powered PCs. Unfortunately, it looks like there isn’t enough momentum to carry AppUp through the years, which has led to such a situation.
Having said all of the above, this particular event in tech history would show that to build an app store without gaining full control of the entire ecosystem (operating system in most, if not all, cases) is not the easiest thing to do as there are so many variables to keep track of. A wildly successful example on the opposite end of the extreme would obviously be the Apple App Store, followed closely by Google’s Play Store. Ah well, better to have tried and fail than not to have tried at all, right? [AppUp Page]