GetJar’s decision to pull the Opera browser from its app store because of Opera’s new in-browser app market wasn’t a surprise. As we reported, the mobile browser maker likely knew that GetJar was going to bring down the hammer because of its non-compete rules and yet Opera launched the app store anyway. Why? Because GetJar is still smaller potatoes for Opera but more importantly, it’s just one part of a larger plan by Opera Software to become a major distribution point for native and web apps.

I talked with Mahi De Silva, Opera’s executive vice president of consumer mobile about the rejection of Opera Mobile Store and how it fits into Opera’s larger vision going forward. Even though GetJar said they’ve had 30 million downloads of Opera mobile browsers, De Silva said the independent app store is, “not an appreciable source of downloads.” De Silva said Opera has 110 million current active users and has 600,000 downloads of its mobile browser each day.

He confirmed the two companies held talks prior to the launch of Opera’s mobile app store but Opera decided to move ahead because GetJar’s goals weren’t aligned with Opera’s. Basically, Opera wasn’t interested in stripping out its app store and was waiting to see if GetJar would react, which it did. De Silva said Opera is still open to working with GetJar, but right now, the software company seems more intent on competing with GetJar and other app markets long term as apps, both native and browser-based, become even bigger business.

“The next chapter for Opera is expanding from a browser to delivering a more expansive fabric of service for consumers and content providers,” De Silva said. “This (Opera Mobile Store) is the first step in a very strategic path for us to enable  our browser to provide great content and utilities to any phone regardless of the OS that might be on the device.”

As De Silva sees it, Opera has to get into the app market because that’s what consumers and developers want. It’s also where the money is. But it’s not just native apps, Opera is looking at being a distribution point for web apps built on HTML and Javascript, in whatever form they take, whether it’s robust programs or lightweight widgets. He said it’s unclear what will win out but Opera is positioning itself to be a provider of both. And in the meantime, Opera is also looking at distributing apps to more feature phones, which is where most of its browsers are found. De Silva said while smartphones are growing, there are still many more basic phones in the world. He said the Opera Mobile Store also tailors each store to the device and region that it’s sold in so the store is accessible and useful to a wide number of users.

“We believe there is a tremendous opportunity in building this infrastructure for consumers developers and publishers to tap into that broader audience,” said De Silva.

That’s why the Opera is not sweating GetJar. It’s got designs on hitting the 5 billion phones in the world and it’s doing the work now to be in place for when apps really blow up. The move fits in line with the stuff we’ve been reporting about the boom in mobile app sales, which could hit billion by 2015 according to Forrester. It’s also consistent with a renewed push (think: WAC) we’re seeing to distribute apps on feature phones, which is a shrinking market but still huge.

But I pointed out to De Silva that in this app boom, competing stores won’t take kindly to an Opera browser serving as a rival app store. He said Opera is being mindful of the landscape and is tailoring its products in certain cases to stay within different app store guidelines. For example, the iOS Opera browser app will not link to Opera’s own store for app downloads but will send people to Apple’s App Store. The RIM BlackBerry version, however, does handle transactions through Opera when it’s supported on newer versions of the BlackBerry OS while older phones link back to BlackBerry App World. And the Android version completely sidesteps billing through Google, which I said will likely be a sticking point.

De Silva said he thought Android’s “open” environment would allow Opera Mobile Store. But he also said Opera will be pragmatic about dealing with any major platform owners who balks at the Opera browser serving as an app distribution point. So the Android Opera app could get pulled or Opera could adjust it to be less competitive.

“We’re not trying to predict what Google will or will not do, we’re focusing on creating the world’s best browser and a compelling content experience for consumers and developers,” De Silva said. “If, based on some app store policies, we have to re-examine that we’ll adjust that strategy.”

I think Opera is going to have a bumpy road on its way to being an app purveyor. Android is increasingly shutting the door on any Android Market app that smells like an app store. I doubt RIM will look the other way either for long. There’s too much money at stake here, which can make this a tough business to be in. But as we’ve reported before, independent app stores are on the rise and are expected to eclipse on-deck app stores in sales soon. Increasingly, it seems like app stores are becoming more appealing to companies with a huge following or a developer community. Opera’s efforts reflect the importance of the app economy and how attractive it is, even for a browser maker. The company’s success will be an interesting test to see if its relationship with consumers as a browser maker can be effectively leveraged to sell apps.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d):

• Why RIM’s Future (Unfortunately) Hinges on BlackBerry OS 6
• Why Google Launched App Inventor
• Is Amazon the New Self-Publish Kingpin?

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Some friends and I recently visited the Muskoka region of Ontario, where an old college friend (Jerod) recently purchased a second-hand motorboat from a retiring Quebecois couple. He’d promised a few us a great weekend at the lake, on the agreement that we help get this secondhand watercraft seaworthy.

This was, regrettably, a bit of challenging. Most of the paint on the hull was rusting, the motor was in urgent need of a tune-up, and the pontoon seats were flaky and frayed. It wasn’t quite the weekend of enjoyment we’d been planning to, but it was an exciting (or at a minimum interesting) one nevertheless.

It began with a half-dozen stops at nearby hardware, boating and home decoration stores, haphazardly collecting the materials we required to get the “Rose of Conakry” (as Jerod had named her) shipshape again. To my surprise, the pontoon boat seats proved to be the hardest to spruce up.

While the majority of the mechanical problems could be remedied using either some oil or a reluctantly-purchased replacement part, the pontoon seats were strongly fused into the boat itself, rendering it impossible to replace with removing a significant part of the furnishings.

Our early efforts to fix them together with transparent tape and adhesive yielded unsuccessful – we made the pontoon boat seat equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster. Rather, we ended up just ripping out most of the fabric, and substituting it using some off-white material we’d chemically treated for water damage.

Unfortunately, the “Rose of Conakry” will never possess the fresh-off-the-line appeal it must’ve had years ago, but I surely prefer it this way, it feels robust, lived in. Around Sunday evening we lastly managed to take the “Rose” out onto the river, where we enjoyed a few hours of kicking back beers and waiting for the fish.

The best upholstery cleaner for your auto might not be the same as the one you would use on your sofa. Car upholstery is meant to resist a bit more injury, and the stains you get in your automobile ( mud, oil, and who-knows-what from the outside ) are often stronger than indoor parlor stains. Many repair center owners counsel a product called “Blue Max” (by Car Brite as an all-purpose cleaner. Your best shot is to water down the product first and then spray it on. Let the mix sit, and then use soapy water with a scrub brush to wash up the stain and the product. Vacuum as the final step to keep the fabric fresh. While many are convinced Blue Max is the best upholstery cleaner for your auto, the stuff is strong. You are going to need to crack the windows a bit during and following cleaning to permit the fumes to escape. Some more gentle possibilities that others recommend when asked what is the best upholstery cleaner for the automobile are Blue Coral, Folex and Oxiclean. Remember that it’s always worth trying just water and soap with a light brush first, without any extra product .

To keep the inside of your car looking good, you also want to do upkeep cleaning on a regular basis. The best upholstery cleaner for maintenance is a vacuum. One strongly recommended product for reaching the interior of your car is a Bissell green machine. There are a couple of models you can consider. The little Green Cleaner is a mini steam vacuum with robust spray and suction for an one-step cleaning and drying process. It is designed compactly with a long rope to get to tough to reach spots. Best of all, it’s made with at least 75 percent recycled materials ( thus the “green” name ). The tiny Green Pro is a step up in size and strength, and uses hot water together with a cleaning agent. It has got a built-in heater for the water, and two collection tanks — one for the cleaner water and another for the dirty water after it is sucked back up. A few people note the sprayer on these products can get clogged, but if you run some lime-away product through the hose, it should be back to functioning as your best upholstery cleaner.

If you are trying to find more on upholstery care, you can check out one of my other articles on the best cleaners for upholstered furniture. For rather more cleaning tips, visit www.cleaningsecretsinfo.com and enroll in Pam’s free email course.
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