Today Handango announced that on October 22nd, the day the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in stores, it will launch the first app store to make both free and purchased applications available for the Android smartphone platform.

To quote the company press release:

“Handango has always offered its customers the widest variety of smartphone apps available on the market and on all major operating systems,” states Bill Stone, CEO Handango. “Handango is now offering developers the opportunity to sell the paid apps they create for the Android platform as well as offer any free apps when the first Android device launches. Customers can purchase apps via the Web and then download them to their device.”

Handango says that developers will be able to offer apps in three ways. They can be offered for free, for a one time fee, or as a subscription (monthly, quarterly, yearly). There is little incentive to offer free apps on Handango, if you ask me, since the on-device Android Market is far more convenient for users, but I suppose developers could cover their bases and offer apps on both systems.

Handango has released a list of apps that it claims will be available, though it isn’t clear if they will be available at launch. Some of the apps, like ShopSavvy, are already available on the Android Market, but others, like Monopoly and Tetris, are not.

• MONOPOLY: Here & Now and Tetris(R) by EA Mobile(TM)
• The Weather Channel for Android by the Weather Channel, Inc.
• Voice on the Go (use your voice to listen to, compose, reply, forward, and delete your email) by Voice on the Go, Inc.
• ShopSavvy (scan a product’s barcode with your phone’s camera and view all the best prices online and at nearby, local stores) by Big in Japan, Inc.
• EzQuote (essential financial portfolio tracking software) by iambic
• GoogHelper (utility to quickly launch Internet searches using sites such as Google, Yahoo!Finance, Amazon, Wikipedia and more) by iambic
• Tipper (indispensable split tip calculator that saves time when it comes to paying the bill) by iambic
• FitSync (log workouts, track your progress, compare and share with a worldwide community) by FitSync Corp
• Par 72 Golf II (a realistic 3D golf game with three 18 hole courses) by RESETgame
• Vegas Pool Sharks (a 3D pool game played against four predatory casino hustlers with increasing skill levels) by RESETgame
• Accutracking (lets you see real-time locations, speed, and headings of your family members or cars/vehicles) by AccuTracking, Inc.
• FotMob (Live coverage of most major European football leagues) by Score Service