Developers now have all the tools they need to create applications for Windows Phone 7, the smart-phone operating system Microsoft is depending on to get it back into the mobile game.
The software giant Thursday morning released the final version of the Windows Phone software development kit, or SDK, which includes scaled-back versions of Microsoft's standard development tools. The free bundle comes just a month or two before Microsoft releases Windows Phone 7 to the public, still slated to happen for the holiday shopping season.
"It's been a pretty long journey, where we came from, and I'm happy with where we're at," Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer platform, said at a media event Wednesday night in Redmond.
Leaders on the Windows Phone team know there's a lot riding on their product and know they're facing an uphill battle. About 18 months ago, when Microsoft began work on the replacement for Windows Mobile, it was clear the team had to start from scratch.
In 2007, Apple released the iPhone and changed the mobile landscape. Windows Mobile, once a market leader, started falling out of favor. The App Age had arrived.
Charlie Kindel, general manager for the Windows Phone partner program, said his team recognized they "needed a massive change."
"When we started the project," he said, "we know we'd basically be starting from ground zero on the application front."
Today there are 250,000 apps in the Apple App Store. There are 50,000 apps for Google Android. When Windows Phone 7 launches, there likely will be just a few thousand apps -- if that.
To deliver a success, Microsoft must entice developers to make apps for the Windows Phone platform. Hence the importance of today's SDK -- though the majority of the tools have been available since a beta release in July.
But to Brandon Watson, a Windows Phone evangelist, it's not a race to get as many apps as possible.
"Which is more important to you: quality of apps or quantity of apps?" he said.
Microsoft's developer tools are well-established, and there's a venerable army of developers that use them. The company hopes its status among software makers will bring plenty of high-quality -- and, certainly, low-quality -- apps to Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft also has been working with big-name companies that will release Windows Phone apps. It has already shown off Associated Press, Foursquare, Pandora and other apps -- on Wednesday it showed off some more, including Twitter, Flixster, OpenTable, Travelocity and Netflix. (Video demos and information on those are coming.)
The SDK released Thursday includes:
"If you want an app -- I use this expression -- that looks so good you want to lick it, you really gotta use those design (techniques)," he said.
Once an app is finished, it will go into the Windows Phone marketplace. The new app store will open in early October, Watson said, then Microsoft will start accepting submissions.
Developers will be required to pay a $99 annual subscription fee (the same price as Apple's) to submit their applications, said Todd Brix, senior director of the marketplace. They can submit an unlimited number of paid apps, but up to five free apps -- those that users can download for nothing -- before paying a $20 submission fee for each additional free app.
As for requirements, Brix said, Microsoft has three main ones:
And as for content?
"We do have a certain content filter that eliminates things such as hate speech, eliminates things like pornography, eliminates things like drugs and alcohol," Brix said.
"We don't have any restrictions on how many fart apps," he laughed, referring to Apple's new App Store terms. "We'll let the consumers determine that. May the best fart app win."
The software giant Thursday morning released the final version of the Windows Phone software development kit, or SDK, which includes scaled-back versions of Microsoft's standard development tools. The free bundle comes just a month or two before Microsoft releases Windows Phone 7 to the public, still slated to happen for the holiday shopping season.
"It's been a pretty long journey, where we came from, and I'm happy with where we're at," Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer platform, said at a media event Wednesday night in Redmond.
Leaders on the Windows Phone team know there's a lot riding on their product and know they're facing an uphill battle. About 18 months ago, when Microsoft began work on the replacement for Windows Mobile, it was clear the team had to start from scratch.
In 2007, Apple released the iPhone and changed the mobile landscape. Windows Mobile, once a market leader, started falling out of favor. The App Age had arrived.
Charlie Kindel, general manager for the Windows Phone partner program, said his team recognized they "needed a massive change."
"When we started the project," he said, "we know we'd basically be starting from ground zero on the application front."
Today there are 250,000 apps in the Apple App Store. There are 50,000 apps for Google Android. When Windows Phone 7 launches, there likely will be just a few thousand apps -- if that.
To deliver a success, Microsoft must entice developers to make apps for the Windows Phone platform. Hence the importance of today's SDK -- though the majority of the tools have been available since a beta release in July.
But to Brandon Watson, a Windows Phone evangelist, it's not a race to get as many apps as possible.
"Which is more important to you: quality of apps or quantity of apps?" he said.
Microsoft's developer tools are well-established, and there's a venerable army of developers that use them. The company hopes its status among software makers will bring plenty of high-quality -- and, certainly, low-quality -- apps to Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft also has been working with big-name companies that will release Windows Phone apps. It has already shown off Associated Press, Foursquare, Pandora and other apps -- on Wednesday it showed off some more, including Twitter, Flixster, OpenTable, Travelocity and Netflix. (Video demos and information on those are coming.)
The SDK released Thursday includes:
- Virtual Studio 2010 for Windows Phone
- Expression Blend for Windows Phone
- a Windows Phone emulator
- XNA Game Studio
"If you want an app -- I use this expression -- that looks so good you want to lick it, you really gotta use those design (techniques)," he said.
Once an app is finished, it will go into the Windows Phone marketplace. The new app store will open in early October, Watson said, then Microsoft will start accepting submissions.
Developers will be required to pay a $99 annual subscription fee (the same price as Apple's) to submit their applications, said Todd Brix, senior director of the marketplace. They can submit an unlimited number of paid apps, but up to five free apps -- those that users can download for nothing -- before paying a $20 submission fee for each additional free app.
As for requirements, Brix said, Microsoft has three main ones:
- Apps cannot contain malware or steal private information.
- Apps must comply with local regulations, such as FCC requirements.
- Apps must perform well -- little crashing, quick boot-ups, and acceptable memory and bandwidth use.
And as for content?
"We do have a certain content filter that eliminates things such as hate speech, eliminates things like pornography, eliminates things like drugs and alcohol," Brix said.
"We don't have any restrictions on how many fart apps," he laughed, referring to Apple's new App Store terms. "We'll let the consumers determine that. May the best fart app win."
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