I've never used the getJar application market place, I had heard of it, but never really considered it as competition for the regular Android market. I was recently approached by their PR agency with a press release detailing how they are launching a pilot program, called getJar+. It looks like they are switching to an AD based revenue stream rather than a pay per app system.

I'll give them a try, but I'm holding back on judgement until I've seen what they host, and how easily they interface with my mobile platform.

The full press release is included below.

GetJar Shakes Up the Mobile Games Industry by Giving Away Millions of Premium Games for FREE

Partners with Glu Mobile to launch the pilot of "GetJar +"

San Mateo, CA – October 5, 2010 – GetJar, (www.getjar.com), the world's second largest app store, today announced that it has launched a pilot program through a partnership with Glu Mobile (NASD: GLUU), a leading global publisher of mobile games, that provides consumers with free premium games exclusively at GetJar.com. During the initial phase of this innovative program, GetJar+ makes premium paid content available for free with no ad insertions, registrations, or any other catches. The very same games one would pay for at other app stores will be available on GetJar for FREE for a limited two-week period to consumers all over the world.

How can GetJar afford to give away games for free?

GetJar is able to do this because of its size as the number two app store in the world with over 1 billion downloads to date across 200 countries which generates nearly 100million downloads/month. Only this level of scale can allow this new model to work – it's the cinema versus a TV network or a music store versus a radio station. GetJar is the TV network or the radio station that doesn't have to rely on making consumers paying for the ticket or CD. GetJar doesn't need to rely on the revenue from the sale of apps – instead it relies on the sponsored app placements on its site, which allows it to then buy premium content from publishers and distribute this content to consumers for free.

"This revolutionary new business model will fundamentally change the app industry economics and give consumers access to many more apps at a lower cost or in GetJar's case – free," said Ilja Laurs, founder and CEO for GetJar. "Everyone benefits -- consumers can download all applications for free and get access to unique content regardless of the phone model they use, and now with GetJar+, millions of consumers get exclusive access to content that would normally require payment to download. Developers and publishers benefit by being paid for the licensing of their content on a global app store with huge scale. We're thrilled that Glu is the first games publisher to realize the benefits of this new monetization model as well as the opportunity to reach consumers globally across more than 2,300 different handsets."

"We're excited to partner with GetJar on GetJar+," said Olivier Bernard, Managing Director of Glu EMEA and APAC. "GetJar's global scale and consumer base allows us to reach an entirely new audience of game-hungry consumers who ordinarily might not be able to buy premium games while also extending the life cycle of our own products through the use of a large and growing distribution channel."

Where can I get these popular games for free?

Initially, these free premium games will be found on GetJar.com's homepage in the "Recommended" section and includes some of Glu's most successful licensed and original IP such as: Brain Genius 2, Stranded: Mysteries of Time, Build-a-lot, and Race Driver Grid.

The games will be available across several major mobile platforms including Android, Blackberry and Java.

About Glu

Glu (NASDAQ:GLUU) is a leading global publisher of mobile games for feature phones and smartphones. Its portfolio of top-rated games includes original titles Beat It!, Bonsai Blast, Brain Genius, Glyder, Jump O'Clock, Stranded, Super K.O. Boxing! and titles based on major brands from partners including Activision, Atari, Fox Mobile Entertainment, Harrah's, Hasbro, Konami, Microsoft, PlayFirst, PopCap Games, SEGA, Sony and Warner Bros. Founded in 2001, Glu is based in San Mateo, Calif. and has offices in Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain. Consumers can find high-quality, fresh entertainment created exclusively for their mobile phones wherever they see the 'g' character logo or at www.glu.com. For live updates, please follow Glu via Twitter at www.twitter.com/glumobile or become a Glu fan at http://www.Facebook.com/glumobile.

About GetJar

GetJar is the world's second largest apps store, second only to the Apple App Store, with over 1 billion downloads to date. The company's key point of difference is its open market approach, which allows it to deliver applications for both feature phones and smartphones across all major platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Symbian among others. The company provides more than 70,000 mobile applications to consumers in more than 200 countries. GetJar has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer for 2011 for its innovative approach to technology and its deep impact on business and society on a global scale. In 2009 GetJar won the Meffy, Tiecon50 and Mobile Excellence awards for its achievements and products. GetJar is backed by Accel Partners and is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in the UK and Lithuania. For more information: www.getjar.com and follow us on Twitter @getjar.