Levine anticipates that that differentiation will essentially come from applications that make use of specific user information. "One advantage that carriers have over device vendors is that they have access to subscriber data beyond the device itself," says Levine. To create competitive app stores, the carriers will have to leverage information that they have on the network side.

That means exposing either co-existing location or preference information or existing back-end information based on other relationships that customers already have with carriers (i.e., through other network access methods, such as broadband or DSL).

Theoretically, users could download an app and allow the carrier to expose their presence information to a third-party developer, whose app would then aggregate that information appropriately. As an example, picture an online-dating application that would require the carrier to share location information.

Putting together enough cool apps on an exclusive basis--and offering them for free to consumers--would make a robust content ecosystem that could be appealing to the consumer, says Levine. Another boon for consumers--assuming they put aside privacy issues--is the opportunity for more personalized applications.