HTC said to be working on its own app store, would make a lot of Sense

Keen readers of the Financial Times will have been greeted this morning by a nice little bit of insider information regarding HTC's future software plans. We already knew the phone maker was keen to play a more active role in the softer parts of the smartphone experience it offers, but two new sources have come forward with word that HTC is actively hiring new staff in preparation for setting up its very own app store. The HTCSense.com cloud service that recently launched with the Desire HD and Desire Z Android models in Europe looks like the first step toward that goal, with its HTC Hub area already acting as an app discovery assistant -- it wouldn't be terribly difficult to include an extra section in it for HTC's own application offerings. That's not to say that this would be an Android exclusive thing, however, as HTC already boasts a selection of ten apps on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform and it would seem quite logical that it'd want an organized repository where it could sort through all its wares.