State’s first brick-and-mortar app store opening in N.O. today

Smartphone and tablet junkies will be able to test-drive Apple and Android apps before buying them at Louisiana’s first brick-and-mortar app store, opening on Magazine Street in New Orleans today. myPhoneApp Store—a creation of the same folks who founded the smartphone repair company myPhoneMD in New Orleans—says its primary focus will be on mobile apps created by developers based in the Crescent City. Also, apps designed specifically for the local market will be on display, including the Geaux Tigers LSU Football app, Garden District Historic Mobile Tour app and the Offbeat New Orleans Mobile app. “Like bookstores, we want to give our customers the chance to try before they buy,” says co-founder Jeff Lyons. The store will not charge customers to try out new apps, and employees will give guidance and recommendations. “We’ve heard of app stores that make recommendations, but this would be the first real-life location where a user could actually try a recommended app for free on a device similar to their own and then download it immediately using a QR code,” says Conrad Green, the company’s other co-founder. Lyons and Green say they’re considering opening app stores at their other Gulf Coast and East Coast locations in the coming months, but gave no specifics.