Aptoide

Aptoide is an online marketplace for mobile applications which runs on the Android operating system. In Aptoide, unlike the Android-default Play Store, there is not a unique and centralized store; instead, each user manages their own store. The software package is published by Aptoide S.A., a for-profit company incorporated in 2011, and headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. There are several versions of the Aptoide app: Aptoide for smartphones and tablets, Aptoide TV - an edition for smart TVs and STBs, Aptoide VR and Aptoide Kids - developed for children's devices. The Android application used to access the stores is open source, and there are several forks such as F-Droid. The communication between the client and servers is done using an open protocol based on XML. The concept is inspired by the APT packaging manager, which can work with multiple sources (repositories). When the user wants a package, they can use the client to search for sources where the application is stored. The name Aptoide is formed from the words "APT" (the Debian package manager) and "oide" (the last syllable of "Android"). Aptoide started as a proposal of Paulo Trezentos at the 2009 Caixa Mágica Summer Camp. The proposal was accepted and later became what today is Aptoide. This first stage of development was later developed in the scope of SAPO Summerbits. The idea behind Aptoide came from different sources. On one hand, the research in Linux installers in Mancoosi European Project, Paulo Trezentos PhD project and Portugal Telecom A5 phone, project where the team participated. In the end of 2010, it was launched in the Bazaar Android site. Bazaar Android provided the possibility for the users to create their own store. In August 2012, Aptoide and Bazaar Android brands were merged to allow a better communication. In 2011, Aptoide S.A. was incorporated in Lisbon, Portugal, as a spin-off of CM Software. In 2011, F-Droid was forked from Aptoide. In 2013, Aptoide received a total of 750,000 euros in seed funding from Portugal Ventures.