Windows Mobile devs should start dotting their I's and crossing their T's, because Microsoft's going to be ready to take a good, hard look at their latest and greatest apps come the 27th of this month when the company finally swings open the doors to the submission processes for inclusion in the
Windows Marketplace. The announcement has been made at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference this week as it gears up for an onslaught of devices running WinMo 6.5 at retail later this year, though the retail channel might not be where much of the action lies; unlike the Apple App Store, the Android Market, Palm's App Catalog and others, Microsoft is putting major emphasis on a segment of Windows Marketplace it's calling the Business Center where corporate-focused apps and utilities will have a place to live. Boring, yes -- but probably also very profitable in the business fleet market segment where WinMo tends to thrive.
Though the company had previously indicated that Windows Marketplace would be a 6.5 exclusive, we've got great news for legacy device owners who don't expect to get an upgrade: Microsoft has also announced today that the Marketplace will be coming to WinMo 6.0 and 6.1 before the year's out. Considering that 6.5 won't be hitting the street until fall, that's not too bad of a wait; now all it needs is a
rich catalog of great software to go along with the great hardware some of its partners are producing, right?
posted Jul 14th 2009 at 9:30AM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Greggoo @ Jul 14th 2009 9:39AM
omgz thats my birthday!
ps... FIRST
Jean P. @ Jul 14th 2009 10:27AM
Who gives a rat's ass?
10minutehobo @ Jul 14th 2009 10:57AM
http://collectingtokens.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/rats_ass_for_you.jpg
tmarks11 @ Jul 14th 2009 12:21PM
wow, mine too. but that has nothing to do with the article.
Greggoo @ Jul 14th 2009 2:50PM
i got no love :(
iphonerulez @ Jul 14th 2009 9:00PM
Microsoft is gearing up for it's second biggest failure (Vista being the first) by creating Windows Marketplace. I remember when Apple first opened the App Store, WinMo users were saying how useless it was to have an single app store when people could get WinMo apps everywhere on the internet for free.
Don't tell me WinMo users have suddenly changed their rebel outlook. Windows Marketplace won't make a penny and I doubt if it will drive WinMo sales to any degree because now a number of online app stores already are open for business. Microsoft is only offering WinMo users something they don't even want so Windows Marketplace can't possibly be a success. Since Microsoft is allowing all WinMo devices to be able to run free flash apps, then really what is the purpose of Windows Marketplace and what use of it will be for developers.
10minutehobo @ Jul 15th 2009 10:52AM
iphonerulez, you need to take some medication for that verbal diarrhea.
Chasethebase @ Jul 15th 2009 4:57PM
@iphonerulez tl;dr, you're opinion is biased so idc.
Is it just me or do the icons on this look nicer than most the iPhone ones?
ohsnapitstahj @ Jul 14th 2009 9:39AM
lets see how fast someone releases the first "fart"app :)
Ruben @ Jul 14th 2009 9:41AM
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=61479
ohsnapitstahj @ Jul 14th 2009 9:44AM
*downloads* >.>
jibba jabba @ Jul 14th 2009 9:41AM
oh sweet... time to start cracking on my latest app... winfart: Corporate edition
sitruc @ Jul 14th 2009 9:44AM
Why would anyone want useful apps on their phone?
Andir3.0 @ Jul 14th 2009 10:45AM
Perhaps someone should make a Wubi like app...
Brandon L @ Jul 14th 2009 11:56AM
I know right, that just takes away from the love/hate relationship we have with them.
I'm glad to see a Facebook app icon though.
ieatzpie @ Jul 14th 2009 3:29PM
@andir
There's actually a program called Taret that lets you run linux off WinMob phones. Its currently being used to port android, but the only problem is that you have to run the program from within window mobile.
Heres a video of it running on a Touch Pro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH-VLYX0d68
dsteve303 @ Jul 14th 2009 9:50AM
Too bad Verizon is a BITCH.
sitruc @ Jul 14th 2009 1:48PM
WTF does this have to do with Verizon?
AndrewNoNumbers @ Jul 14th 2009 2:54PM
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/07/13/verizon-to-its-smartphones-thou-shalt-have-no-other-app-store-b/
sitruc @ Jul 14th 2009 4:36PM
Did you only read the headline, AndrewNoNumbers? VZW will not block or restrict other app stores. They just won't include the link or portals to other app stores.
y3k.nik @ Jul 14th 2009 9:51AM
I can see this grow faster than any other catalog simply because there are so many applications all over the web that dev might want to put into the marketplace for easy access. Its a matter of switching from hosting your own site and making the application available to the marketplace. This with a UI overhaul might be what windows mobile needs to bring it back into the game.
Windzilla @ Jul 14th 2009 10:36AM
I agree, WM has somewhere close to 20,000 apps already, and a huge consumer base. I would not be surprised to see this move past the Iphone in both downloads and number of apps in the next year or so, of course they need to play nice with devs, and streamline whatever approval process they have.
SimbaDogg @ Jul 14th 2009 10:46AM
i for one am actually kinda disappointed to hear this. The odds that developers are going to make two different apps (one for devices with 6.5+ hardware, and another for older devices w/ 6.0/6.1 spec hardware) is highly unlikely. This for the most part means less rich apps, with poorer designed interfaces and degraded performance. perfect example, i have a tilt, not the newest of devices, but someone on the palringo support forum (chat app) was complaining the the phone takes up too much resources. I thought it was BS because i can't tell whether the app is open or close on my phone because it uses so little (400 mhz cpu, 128 mb ram), but he said that his device slowed down to a crawl when he had it open. Turns out w/e phone he had was way old and has just 64 mb or ram and a 195 mhz cpu. support for legacy devices is cool, i'm just really hoping some developers actually make "6.5 only" apps. otherwise newer phones like the samsung omina pro, touch pro/diamond 2, and other phones w/ powerful cpus and lots of ram aren't going to be fully utilized.
Alan Strangis @ Jul 14th 2009 11:43AM
WM 6.5 should run fine on your Tilt, after a visit to xda-developers. It runs well on the HTC Touch (similar specs, but no keyboard).
When they mention 'legacy' in the article, they're talking more about supporting the 'legacy OS versions', as most apps should be compatible between 6.5 and earlier versions. The really compatibility difference is going to happen when WM 7 comes out with it's higher minimum specs.
http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=1008
The GHz class processors with 3D acceleration in WM 7 are going to be the real dividing line between current and legacy. 6.5 is a stop gap (or a bone to throw the WM faithful and developers while they iron out WM 7).
SimbaDogg @ Jul 14th 2009 4:06PM
yeah i know, the minimum specs for 6.5 are 400 mhz processor, and 128 mb of ram, not sure about hardware graphics acceleration (dont remember). but no matter which way you shake it, there's gonna be a huge difference between an app made to run on a 6.5 minimum spec, and something that is essentially the HTC wizard (ti omap processor 195 mhz, 64 ram).
Alan Strangis @ Jul 14th 2009 4:59PM
@SimbaDogg: True enough. I recently flashed a 6.5 ROM (with TouchFlo 2D no less), and it ran fine speed wise. The biggest issue is the amount of available memory, because it's really hampered in that department.
It would mean managing how many apps you have going at once, and if you're a heavy 3rd party app user, doing a ton of installs to the SD card.
Quix @ Jul 14th 2009 9:54AM
Microsoft: The Innovation is ASTOUNDING! (TM)
Zunedude @ Jul 14th 2009 9:54AM
can you say, "Zune HD?"
Maeztro @ Jul 14th 2009 10:06AM
Was thinking the same thing...though I wonder if Zune is getting it's own marketplace for ZHD Apps...
DeoWulf @ Jul 14th 2009 11:25AM
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090714/microsoft-oneapp-possible-app-store-zune-hd/
Alan Strangis @ Jul 14th 2009 11:54AM
I have to say that I think it's obvious that ZuneHD and WM 7 are going to be the same operating system.
Think of it this way. Apple continues making the iPhone and iPod Touch, but allows 3rd party hardware manufacturers to make new phone form factors (slide out keyboard, thumbboard etc). Microsoft already has the relationships in place with its 3rd party device manufacturers.
TechNewb @ Jul 14th 2009 9:59AM
I was just about to make fun of Microsoft for trying to emulate yet another market, but then I saw Street Fighter II. And all was good. Capcom needs to get with the program and release some Street Fighter action for the iPhone. Jailbreaking is so last year. ;O
Capcom's iPhone games could leave some more to be desired for such a large potential market. Their Megaman iPhone game I hear is quite a travesty. Come on Capcom, come on.
Look_Around_You @ Jul 14th 2009 10:37AM
"I was just about to make fun of Microsoft for trying to emulate yet another market"
And how exactly is that something to make fun of?
It's like making fun of Engadget for emulating Gizmodo.
TechNewb-reply @ Jul 14th 2009 10:49AM
Because Microsoft's success comes from emulating other businesses and sometimes exploiting them. And I find that mildly comical. The west is a society which usually searches for the 'real mccoy'. :) Some of us pride companies whom are innovative, others of us just like to be an average consumer where the price tag is all that matters.
10minutehobo @ Jul 14th 2009 11:02AM
What exactly is innovative about Apple's app store?
It's an online store for phone software, that's it.
Look_Around_You @ Jul 14th 2009 11:28AM
"Some of us pride companies whom are innovative"
So why are you on a site that started by doing the same thing other gadget sites have done? By this way of thinking, we should all be reading Gizmodo. Ugh.
A phone app store isnt something Apple invented. Heck did they invent applications on mobile phones? No. they took ideas from other places and improved them, others have done the same and, Apple will take there ideas, and so on. No sane consumer is even remotely giving a damn about who invented it first.
And why should other mobile platforms not have this if people want it? Just to avoid snickers from messageboard posters? Makes sense.
TechNewb-rply @ Jul 14th 2009 11:29AM
A general indicator for innovative products is to see what Microsoft is emulating. Since Microsoft is emulating Apples app store, it is innovative. Since Microsoft emulated Netscape, Netscape is innovative. Since Microsoft emulated Xerox and Apple, they are innovative. Since Microsoft emulated Google, Google is innovative. I'm not saying Microsoft has not done innovative things, just not this decade so much. Natal might be cool. But Balmer as CEO makes Microsoft feel like Walmart trying to increase profit margins in absurd ways that I as a consumer do not appreciate. (I.E. Different versions of the same stripped down product)
Kelmon @ Jul 14th 2009 11:50AM
As much as I loved Street Fighter 2, I don't think it is a game suited to the iPhone. Porting games designed around joysticks and button mashing isn't going to work well on a platform designed around touch. Sad but true. This doesn't mean that games aren't suited to the iPhone, simply that they need to work with the strengths of the platform to be any good. As they say, a round peg does not fit into a square hole...
Quikboy @ Jul 14th 2009 5:14PM
@TechNewb-rply: You could also say a lot of companies may emulate Microsoft. I've seen both Apple and Google emulate Microsoft in some ways. Would you say that Microsoft is innovative too, just because a company emulates another company?
Richard @ Jul 14th 2009 7:36PM
TechNewb - I don't understand your claim that apple is more innovative than microsoft. Apple seems to market to the people who just want to use a PC without understanding what is under the hood. You know- the same type of people who buy a $120 HDMI cable because the minimum wage douche at best buy told them it was better. Microsoft, on the other hand, opened there OS up to the world for a small fee and created an entire industry based around "what is under the hood" (Me from earlier). I will admit that, at the time of Microsoft’s rise, P.C.’s were inevitably going to wind up a part of the population of Earth’s life, but Mr. Gates really grabbed the bull by the horns and paved the way for world we live in now. Back to my original point, I really can’t understand how someone would not see Mr. Gates’ contribution to the modern world as anything but innovative. His business structure alone shows more innovation than the world has ever seen. At the end of the day one thing remains true, apples are pretty and nice to look at but chances are you spend your day at work on a PC. And, just incase your curious, I my background is civil engineering, not software. In other words, I build skyscrapers, not PC’s
Technewb-rpy @ Jul 14th 2009 8:51PM
All I'm saying that this decade Microsoft has shown less than stellar performance, and I think it's because their CEO is too obsessed with the business side that it makes their innovation stagnant. Saying Macs are for people whom don't know hardware is absurd, considering Macs hardware is usually far more superior than your average hardware found in an average PC.
Here is a high mark review from PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/168002/soupedup_macbook_pro_gets_high_marks.html I quote: "For the money, there is no better-built notebook.(than a Macbook)" Also any review of Mac OS X would suffice to say that it is far superior than Windows. Let's face it, if your familiar with both systems there is currently no chance for a windows machine to compare. Things are alot different than 10 years ago.
And I think Street Fighter on the iPhone could be great with the new hardware. I'd love to see Capcom actually put out some games worth playing on the iPhone. I wonder if there is pressure from Japan not to fully adopt it yet...
bolmedias @ Jul 14th 2009 10:04AM
Isn't this the one with the draconian rules and regulations? There were so many jokes about some of those rules. Expecting this to fail.
tcc3 @ Jul 14th 2009 12:19PM
As opposed to Apples completely open and transparent app store...
Melissa @ Jul 14th 2009 10:11AM
Weird.
whitephatt @ Jul 14th 2009 10:19AM
Has anyone else noticed that the 'Puzzles' icon colors are the same pattern as the AVG Antivirus icon?
-Matt
TrueEddie @ Jul 14th 2009 10:27AM
I completely agree.
T-Will @ Jul 14th 2009 1:19PM
Yeah, noticed that too, seems a bit odd...
CJ @ Jul 15th 2009 8:55AM
... Which is just the windows logo, turned on colour clockwise.
TrueEddie @ Jul 14th 2009 10:26AM
Too late. I just got rid of my WM6.1 Touch Diamond.
Quikboy @ Jul 14th 2009 5:15PM
What was wrong with it?