In a clever move, Vodafone will be opening up its own Android App store through a tie up with Arvato Mobile. Little is known at the moment but its likely to open its doors in early June 2010 and come preinstalled on devices from then on. Vodafone have had a big push on Google OS driven handsets in what has been tagged Android April will the HTC Desire, HTC Legend and the Sony Ericsson X10 all launched this month with the Nexus One also heading to Europe on the Big Red network.

Whilst the network continues to push its 360 services, jumping on the Android App bandwagon alongside is a good move but Im sure Google arent overly happy with revenue it gains from the 30% of apps sold heading to someone else as Apps get produced on Vodafones shop and not the Android Market.

There will no doubt be questions from developers on whether one app can be sold in both shops and much of that will be decided by T&C’s and the techical set up of Vodafones Store.  We will have to wait and see.

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This week saw Hitwise publish stats that made very grim reading for Bebo and MySpace, but very good news for Facebook (surprise) and Club Penguin (real surprise). Faccebook dominates the traffic figures whilst Club Penguin is steadily climbing the league table moving from 10th to 8th. Club Penguin is probably feeling pretty positive about its future as the number of young children with computers and internet access is growing dramatically and so the future of sites that provide a safe social experience will no doubt grow in popularity also. But here’s the catch. As children out grow Club Penguin and similar services, they may still be too young for the full on facebook experience. Those that want to move on up others will wonder how they can make the step from one to the other.

 At the moment the founders of Facebook may feel invincible as it watches its closest competitors, sites like Bebo and MySpace, slip so far behind Facebook that its no longer in sight. But things change, new competitors enter the market and they shouldnt get complacent, they should be looking at emerging markets or in this case aging users of child focused social networks.

 If the transition from sites like Club Penguin was already mapped out through wizardry like technological magic and close commercial ties then Facebook would guarantee the future of its user base. If users could, through a few clicks, transfer profile and friend information from one service to another, users could be hooked for life.

 On a similar theme but looking at the other end of the scale, if Facebook is for the young, hip and trendy amongst us, then Facebook may also want to consider the future of its current user base . We all age and will at some point out grow the concept of throwing sheep or stalking ex’es. A more ‘grown up’ new separate version of Facebook aimed at the oldies could be the answer but would need to be cleverly positioned and if implemented correctly could again ensure Facebooks longevity.

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