Dylan McGrath EE Times (01/08/2010 4:09 PM EST)

SAN FRANCISCO—Taking a page from the playbook of Apple Inc., Intel Corp. has launched an online store offering applications for netbook computers.

The first applications are already available for download at the site, www.intelappup.com. Some are free, but others are paid applications. Applications available will ultimately span business, education, entertainment, games, health, socializing and other categories, according to Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.).

The application store was first announced Thursday (Jan. 7) by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Partners Acer, Asus, Dell and Samsung have announced plans to participate in the project, Intel said.

The beta store will host applications for both the Microsoft Windows and the open source Moblin-based operating systems, the first operating systems to target the netbook computer category, Intel said. The vast majority of current netbooks use Intel's Atom processor.

Apple (Cupertino, Calif.) has been successful offering applications for its iPhone through its application store. Other companies that offer smartphones have followed suit.

Intel said the company and its partners expect to expand the stores over time to include applications for the large categories of handheld CE devices, smartphones, consumer electronic appliances, TVs and other devices based on future Intel processor families.

Within 30 days of offering the program, thousands of developers signed up and downloaded the starter-kit, and more than 350 apps have since been submitted for validation or review, Intel said.

A sampling of the applications currently available includes Arnold Palmer Golf, Boxee, Wikihow and Yoono.