Microsoft have kicked off the Mix ‘10 event today with news about Windows Phone 7 including the unveiling of the new marketplace.
Applications written for previous versions of Windows Mobile won’t be compatible with the new phones, and there are much stricter guidelines [for this read, rules] for developers this time around. Clearly, Microsoft want to influence app developers the way Apple has to create a unified experience across all apps on the phone.
The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace has everything you need to kick off with, credit card purchases, operator billing and ad-supported content. There’s also a try-before you buy facility built in. A simple way to purchase programs using just two clicks is an obvious attempt to make the new marketplace as accessible and easy to use as possible.
In addition to this, Microsoft have also today released test versions of the app development software, which was widely reported to have been based on their Silverlight interactive plug-in. Developers will already be able to get their apps together (did you like that, I’m quite proud of it!) and this will help the new phones to launch with a relatively full marketplace by the times the final launch comes around in Q4 2010.
The marketplace will also be the central location for buying music and, I’m sure, a great many other things in the future.
It’s also been confirmed that the only way to transfer apps onto the new phones will be to download them through the app store, and in order to be listed in the app store, developers will have to abide by strict development rules. While this doesn’t come as a surprise, it’s a significant departure for Microsoft that’s built it’s entire successful life on anyone being able to develop what they like for it’s products.
Engadget had a meeting with Microsoft’s Todd Higgs, additional details on what the Marketplace is and how it will word are…
Windows Phone Marketplace appears to take some of the best parts of the App Store and the Android Market and throw them together into a hodgepodge, but they’ve strayed a bit with the trial period system — with the Marketplace, it’s up to the developer to decide how the trial works. There are API hooks to let the developer manage the whole process, actually — to quote [Higgs], a game dev could end the trial after you’ve killed 50 trolls, for example. There’s no additional download after the trial expires; the game just unlocks if you choose to buy it.
Marketplace membership for developers still costs $99 a year, though Biggs says they’re looking at tweaking the 5-app limit per account present in 6.5 — whether that means they’ll remove the limit altogether, though, we don’t yet know.
There are no fees for developers to update their apps, nor fees for users to download them.
Speaking of user downloads, you’ll be able to uninstall purchased apps and redownload them at a later time at your leisure — the purchases are tied to your Live account, not your phone, so you can move between devices at will. That’s a Microsoft policy that developers won’t be able to override.
If a dev wants to post a free, ad-supported app, they’ve only got two hurdles: the $99 fee and — of course — approval by Microsoft. For ad-supported apps specifically, the company will have some guidelines specifically targeted at making sure the ads are appropriate and germane.
Microsoft’s only dealing in real money here — no points (though there’s still an opportunity for direct carrier billing).
Though there’s some development synergy between Zune and WP7S at this point (with XNA, specifically), there’s no ecosystem synergy beyond that — different marketplaces for the developers to submit to and manage.
You’ll be able to browse and buy apps and games through the Zune desktop client on your PC.
Though there’s no way for end users to purchase and install apps outside of the Marketplace, Microsoft is naturally working on a solution for trialling apps on a limited number of devices; if we had to guess, it’ll be something akin to Apple’s ad hoc installation mode. For now, the only way to do it is to unlock devices one at a time through the developer portal, and Microsoft isn’t talking about how many devices you’ll be able to unlock on an account right now.
The Marketplace itself keeps the look and feel of Windows Phone 7 so far and, like all aspects of this new mobile OS, is based on scrollable panels. There’s a video of the marketplace in action on the following link.
Source : Engadget and More Engadget
