Windows Marketplace for Mobile sounds like App Store

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 12 March 2009 05:00

Your IT - Mobility

Microsoft has announced how it plans to boost software development and sales for Windows Mobile 6.5, and it sounds remarkably like Apple's App Store.

Microsoft's making a concerted push to promote third-party development for Windows Mobile 6.5 in the face of the high levels of interest in iPhone applications among developers and users.

Despite the iPhone being a much younger product than Windows Mobile, both platforms claim more than 20,000 applications.

Microsoft is turning to its existing developer community, as Windows Mobile applications are created with existing Windows tools and technologies including Win32, Active Template Library and Microsoft Foundation Classes (Visual C++), Visual C#, Visual Basic .NET and ASP.NET.

Like Apple, Microsoft will charge developers $US99 per year to be part of the program. But that only covers five application submissions to Windows Marketplace for Mobile, rather than the unlimited number allowed by Apple.

Additional submissions will attract a fee of $US99 each. And note that developers are charged per submission, not per application accepted. Since Microsoft promises "a rigorous certification and testing process" it is possible that some developers will find some applications have to be submitted more than once before they are approved.

Apple's approval process has been criticised for its opacity and uncertainty, but Microsoft promises detailed feedback during and after the certification process.

As with Apple's scheme, developers will set their own prices (even free) and receive 70 percent of the revenue for their applications.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile registrations will start this northern spring, and application submissions will begin "later this summer."