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Microsoft will launch its Windows Phone Marketplace in October, suggesting it release Windows Phone 7 devices in the same timeframe. The final set of Windows Phone developer tools will come Sept. 16.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace will launch sometime in early October, suggesting that manufacturers will begin to roll out Windows Phone 7 devices ahead of the holiday season.
In an Aug. 23 blog posting, a Microsoft executive announced plans to ship final Windows Phone 7 developer tools Sept. 16.
“All developers will have equal opportunity to capitalize on the first mover advantage of having their apps or games ready at launch,” Brandon Watson, Microsoft’s director of developer experience for Windows Phone 7, wrote in the posting on The Windows Blog.
To make that happen, though, developers will need to download the final tools Sept. 16 and use them to recompile their app or game. “Have your XAP ready for ingestion into the marketplace in early October when it opens,” Watson added.
Microsoft’s last mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, launched concurrently in October 2009 with Windows Marketplace for Mobile, the previous version of its mobile-applications storefront. Despite being termed a “restart” by Microsoft executives, Mobile 6.5 failed to gain traction with consumers. Windows Phone 7 is viewed as an even more radical reset, with a completely revamped user interface and app marketplace.
An October-timeframe launch for both Windows Phone Marketplace and Windows Phone 7 would correspond with earlier rumors. In June, the tech blog Engadget quoted Mitch Mathews, senior vice president for Microsoft’s Central Marketing Group, as saying Windows Phone 7 would “launch this October.” That timing would allow Microsoft and its manufacturing partners to build buzz for the smartphones ahead of the holiday shopping rush.
Whether that pans out—Microsoft has repeatedly said the phones will launch by the end of 2010—the company is certainly pushing developers to create for the platform. Major competitors to Windows Phone 7, including the Apple iPhone and Google Android line of devices, come with sizable app stores already in place; meanwhile, Research In Motion has committed to building a more robust storefront for BlackBerry apps.
“The Windows Phone Marketplace continues our commitment to having a clear and open process for certifying apps and games. To reinforce that, today we have posted an updated set of Windows Phone Marketplace policies,” Watson added in his blog posting. “Further, in the coming weeks we will be conducting a limited Beta test cycle of our app submission and certification process.”
But the supposedly updated list of Marketplace policies seems unchanged from the version released in July, at least when it comes to guidelines for applications and content. Those policies include restrictions on the depiction of exploding body parts and “people or creatures on fire,” which could create some fascinating issues when it comes to approving popular games.
“Philosophically our approach with Marketplace is in line with what’s existed for Windows Phone traditionally, and for Windows Mobile 6.5,” Casey McGee, a spokesperson for Microsoft, told eWEEK in a July 13 interview at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference. “What we’ve sought to do with Windows Phone is be very transparent—here are what the fees are going to look like, etc., and here are the guidelines.”
Reports suggest that Microsoft has been offering to pay developers of popular iPhone applications to port their wares over to Windows Phone 7. At TechEd, Microsoft also made a visible effort to push the platform onto more business-centric designers. The company claims some 300,000 downloads of earlier versions of its Windows Phone Developer Tools to date.
Microsoft will launch its Windows Phone Marketplace in October, suggesting it release Windows Phone 7 devices in the same timeframe. The final set of Windows Phone developer tools will come Sept. 16.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace will launch sometime in early October, suggesting that manufacturers will begin to roll out Windows Phone 7 devices ahead of the holiday season.
In an Aug. 23 blog posting, a Microsoft executive announced plans to ship final Windows Phone 7 developer tools Sept. 16.
“All developers will have equal opportunity to capitalize on the first mover advantage of having their apps or games ready at launch,” Brandon Watson, Microsoft’s director of developer experience for Windows Phone 7, wrote in the posting on The Windows Blog.
To make that happen, though, developers will need to download the final tools Sept. 16 and use them to recompile their app or game. “Have your XAP ready for ingestion into the marketplace in early October when it opens,” Watson added.
Microsoft’s last mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, launched concurrently in October 2009 with Windows Marketplace for Mobile, the previous version of its mobile-applications storefront. Despite being termed a “restart” by Microsoft executives, Mobile 6.5 failed to gain traction with consumers. Windows Phone 7 is viewed as an even more radical reset, with a completely revamped user interface and app marketplace.
An October-timeframe launch for both Windows Phone Marketplace and Windows Phone 7 would correspond with earlier rumors. In June, the tech blog Engadget quoted Mitch Mathews, senior vice president for Microsoft’s Central Marketing Group, as saying Windows Phone 7 would “launch this October.” That timing would allow Microsoft and its manufacturing partners to build buzz for the smartphones ahead of the holiday shopping rush.
Whether that pans out—Microsoft has repeatedly said the phones will launch by the end of 2010—the company is certainly pushing developers to create for the platform. Major competitors to Windows Phone 7, including the Apple iPhone and Google Android line of devices, come with sizable app stores already in place; meanwhile, Research In Motion has committed to building a more robust storefront for BlackBerry apps.
“The Windows Phone Marketplace continues our commitment to having a clear and open process for certifying apps and games. To reinforce that, today we have posted an updated set of Windows Phone Marketplace policies,” Watson added in his blog posting. “Further, in the coming weeks we will be conducting a limited Beta test cycle of our app submission and certification process.”
But the supposedly updated list of Marketplace policies seems unchanged from the version released in July, at least when it comes to guidelines for applications and content. Those policies include restrictions on the depiction of exploding body parts and “people or creatures on fire,” which could create some fascinating issues when it comes to approving popular games.
“Philosophically our approach with Marketplace is in line with what’s existed for Windows Phone traditionally, and for Windows Mobile 6.5,” Casey McGee, a spokesperson for Microsoft, told eWEEK in a July 13 interview at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference. “What we’ve sought to do with Windows Phone is be very transparent—here are what the fees are going to look like, etc., and here are the guidelines.”
Reports suggest that Microsoft has been offering to pay developers of popular iPhone applications to port their wares over to Windows Phone 7. At TechEd, Microsoft also made a visible effort to push the platform onto more business-centric designers. The company claims some 300,000 downloads of earlier versions of its Windows Phone Developer Tools to date.