Centralized vs decentralized mobile application portals

Question

Lately I've been reading this article about mobile app development. On page 25 / page 28 they talk about centralized and decentralized mobile application portals. Unfortunately, the article is very dated.

Let's say I want to categorize the main mobile platforms nowadays. Initially I would come up with something like this:

• Google Android: centralized
• Apple iOS: centralized
• Windows Phone: centralized
• BlackBerry OS: centralized
• Firefox OS: decentralized
• Amazon Fire OS: centralized

How would you complete this? I didn't find a way to validate these information. Google i.e. should be centralized because of the Google Play Store. However, there are alternative ways to download Android Apps like Aptoide. And then there is the Opera Mobile Store. You can download apps there for every platform. What does this mean for the categorization of mobile application portals?

Update: I'm still looking for some answers since I didn't figure out yet how to validate the information above. Any help is appreciated!

Update 2: After doing some further research, I was able to complete the list above. However, I'm still not sure if this really is correct. I added some bounty for those interested in reading the article and helping at my problem. Thanks.

Answer 1

Your list, so far, looks correct to me but Firefox OS has it´s own marketplace. So all of them have a way of working out and install your own stuff out of the store. Maybe Android is the most open of them all in that particular sense but they all try to keep the users hanging from their own named marketplace

Answer 2

As per the Article you mentioned :

Centralized portal

In this model, one portal is proposed as the main portal on which all applications are published. This approach gives the main portal provider a competitive advantage over others. Consumers can easily find and download applications. It also facil- itates the job of developers by offering a single point of sale. Centralized portals can benefit from network effects by attract- ing more consumers and more developers. Apple and Google propose a single point of sale with the AppStore and the Android Market. However, these two platforms have different approaches. On the one hand, Apple pushes a unique and exclusive portal with a strict application review process. Google, on the other hand, does not restrict the publication of appli- cations to its portal. Moreover, there are no plans to review applications prior to publication as it counts on consumers’ feed- back to exclude inappropriate and low-quality applications.

Firefox OS: decentralized ?

No,because : There is a marketplace for Firefox As well where you can upload and download Apps.

Marketplace was started in 2013

Your Reference Article is outdated ! : 2010

Hence it did not included Firefox in centralized Portal !