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GetJar , which distributes free mobile applications to consumers on the Internet and over the phone, said it is branching out its business by building application storefronts for wireless carriers. A few months ago, that would have been unheard of because carriers typically want to own the relationship with their subscribers. But with the success of Apple's ( NSDQ: AAPL ) App store, which Steve Jobs said made $30 million in its first four weeks, copycats are really starting to take off. For example, earlier this month, I reported that T-Mobile will create an open storefront this Fall that would allow developers to sell their applications freely to their subscribers, and yesterday Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ) announced the Android Market, a store for Android phones when they become available later this year. Of course, there's other app stores too, including Handango, which sells apps to smartphone users. When I met up with Bill Scott, GetJar Network's VP of sales and business development in Seattle this week, he said GetJar is seeing the same trend and is starting to work with carriers to distribute free apps on their decks. The numbers are convincing. So far, GetJar claims that consumers have downloaded 300 million applications in total from its site, with a monthly average of about 13 million downloads worldwide and more than 500,000 in the U.S. It distributes everything from Google Maps and Yahoo's ( NSDQ: YHOO ) Go to nifty, but also less useful items, such as Disco Light, which makes your phone flash, and Battery Drainer, which makes your phone flash and beep until it's dead. Adult entertainment is also fair game. The company initially had no intentions of being an app store, but Founder Ilja Laurs of Lithuania stumbled into it. As a game developer, he always had a hard time getting his games tested. One day he posted it on a Web site, asking people to download it for free and report any bugs (That also explains the company's name...Jar is the suffix...