Microsoft to developers: Join us on the app store bandwagon!
Developers overwhelmed by the deluge of mobile application stores that have opened in the last year will soon have the option to build apps for yet another platform, Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Microsoft’s answer to the Apple App Store isn’t launching until this fall, but it will start accepting submissions from developers on July 27.
Microsoft’s blog post announcing the date includes some other nuggets of news. For one thing, the Marketplace won’t just be available for the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, as previously reported, but also on 6.0 and 6.1 by the end of the year. There will be a developer contest announced at the end of the month.
How is Microsoft going to convince developers that Windows Mobile is worth their time when Apple is getting so much buzz (and just hit 1.5 billion downloads in the App Store)? There are plenty of other stores, too, like BlackBerry’s App World and Nokia’s (troubled) Ovi. Well, there’s the fact that developers could potentially reach 30 million phones once the store comes to Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1.
Todd Brix, the senior director for mobile platform services and product management at Microsoft, writes, “We’re working hard to create a new experience for mobile users and developers alike — where users can easily discover and confidently purchase and download applications for work, life or play and developers feel good about the submission process and are able to reach a new market for their mobile applications.”
On the “work” front, Microsoft is also announcing a Windows Marketplace Business Center, a section of the store dedicated to business-oriented applications. Presumably this could create a contrast with the more consumer-focused Apple, though it’s not like there’s a shortage of business products in the App Store — and I hear there are a few business people out there who remain fond of their BlackBerrys.
By the way, Microsoft’s Jason Lim will be appearing on a panel on the future of mobile devices at our MobileBeat2009 conference on Thursday. VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall will also be interviewing Google vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra, who has argued that mobile applications will start moving away from app stores. You can buy one of the last few tickets here.
