PocketGear secures $15M to advance 'largest open app store'

PocketGear, the cross-platform mobile application retailer which acquired mobile app store Handango earlier this year, has closed a round of series B funding, which earned the company fifteen million dollars.

The round of funding was led by Trident Capital, and included investments from BlackBerry Partners Fund, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt's TomorrowVentures LLC.

Currently, PocketGear sells downloadable apps for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, PalmOS, and Java-based devices in both the North American and European markets. The company says the money will be put toward growing its sales and marketing teams, expanding its global presence, and to fund continuing development in its technology and platforms.

"As we power more app stores for our partners, PocketGear provides an even more powerful distribution channel for our network of developers. Trident and BlackBerry Partners Fund both have deep experience and success in mobile and Internet services and, like us, believe that an open marketplace will deliver more value for all of the key stakeholders across the mobile value chain," Jud Bowman, President and CEO of PocketGear said in a prepared statement today.

Market research firm Gartner estimated that 99% of mobile app sales for 2009 came from the iTunes app store, but as users gradually abandon their old flip phones for smartphones of various types that support third-party application installation, this statistic will balance itself out.

PocketGear's app store network includes Handango, Smartphone.net, PocketGear, Mobile2Day, AndroidGear, SymbianGear, and RimGear.