Gecko Installer – Finally an Application store for Windows Mobile?

Windows Mobile fans and users have all developed a habit of buying the software directly from the website of software houses or from places like handango.com or pocketgear.com. They have been deprived of something which Apple has provided to it’s users: Application Store, which the  Apple calls it App Store.

Now, there seems to be a ray of light for the Windows Mobile users. Has it come from Microsoft or HTC? NO. Is it fake one like Palm? NO

Well, let me introduce GECKO. So, what is it?

Gecko is an application installer and manager for Windows Mobile. It is inspired from the Apple AppStore and the Ubuntu Package Manager.

The concept of GECKO

Installing applications on your device is a complicated thing for most Windows Mobile users. You have CAB files, EXE files, MSI files, ZIP files… that’s a lot! iPhone users have the AppStore and Linux users have Package Managers. Now what would happen if we mixed both and made something for Windows Mobile? That’s the Gecko project, and it’s going to be great!

In addition, Gecko would incorporate previously unseen features such as application management, favorites, automatic updates, command line operations and app restore. The goal is to provide every Windows Mobile user a way to easily manage and install applications.

For developers

For developers, Gecko will offer unprecedented support. Adding your application to the database takes a few minutes. You applications will be hosted on the Gecko servers and will remain there, free of charge, as long as you notify us when your application is updated. Additionally, command line and APIs will allow you to add Gecko functionality to your applications.

The application is still in it’s premature phase, but I can certainly see it happening finally. Here is a quick overview of the application:

Even though the application is still in Beta stage, it still performs very nicely. Just click on the application you want and then, you download the application OTA (over-the-air). The Gecko also tells the user the author of the application and his website.

You can also the save the CAB file for future reference. CAB files can like setup files for windows mobile. They can contain files or/and registry keys.

The application list in Gecko can easily be upgraded by simply selecting “Update Database” from the Menu. So, make sure to update the database once in a while so that you always have the latest list of applications.

You can learn more about the Gecko from here and download Gecko (warning, BETA!). It is a simple CAB file that is meant to be executed directly on the device.