Intel AppUp App Store Finally Put To Rest

After almost four years of existence spent mostly on ignominy, Intel is shuttering its customized AppUp app marketplace that probably very few know about. The official statement is that the company wants to focus its resources on platform innovation, but it's not hard to see some business common sense coming into play as well.

Intel AppUp has had a rather unexciting life since it launched in early 2010. The app store was initially intended to support the then nascent netbook generation, with the premise that the new device category would need a new and specialized way of searching for and installing apps akin to app stores on mobile devices.

Unfortunately, just as the netbook hype, if one can even call it that, flickered away quickly, so did AppUp's public presence. More than a year later, Intel itself admitted that AppUp hasn't enjoyed as much interest as its mobile counterparts. Admittedly, it is somewhat harder to break old habits and preconceived notions on devices that resemble too closely desktops and laptops.

Now Intel is finally pulling the plug on AppUp, and the transition is bound to cause some amount of confusion, consternation, and hassle. Intel has put up a FAQ to try to dispel some of those, but in summary, no new apps or content will be available for download starting March 11 this year. But given how Intel has built up the AppUp ecosystem, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Since some apps have been built to communicate with AppUp, users will still need to keep the AppUp client installed. Unfortunately, those types of apps may also stop working after May 15, 2015. Fortunately, Intel is also offering to refund app purchases, but the refund process will only last until December 19 this year.

VIA: Ars Technica