Microsoft readying apps store for Windows Mobile?

Updated at 4 p.m. PDT with second-quarter smartphone sales figures.

It looks as though Microsoft is joining Apple and Google in the mobile "apps store" market.

It appears the software giant expects to launch an applications store called "Skymarket" this fall for its Windows Mobile platform, if a recent job posting spotted by Long Zheng at Istartedsomething.com is accurate. According to the ad posted Sunday on Computerjob.com, the Skymarket senior product manager will head a team that will "drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile."

(Credit: Microsoft)

Among the key responsibilities, according to the ad:

•  Definition of the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace "the place to be" for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications

•  Responsibility for the business model and key elements that will drive the optimal experience for developers and monetization of the service by Microsoft

•  Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the initial launch of the marketplace offering to the developer community this fall

•  Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration with stakeholders in the commercial launch of the marketplace service with the launch of WM 7

Microsoft representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Windows Mobile is a software operating system used on smartphones. Smartphones, which offer e-mail, Web surfing, music, and other Internet services, are growing in popularity. Smartphone sales increased to 19 percent of all mobile-phone sales in the second quarter, a 9 percent increase from the same period a year ago, the NPD Group reported.

Microsoft has been working hard to cash in on the growing demand for smartphones. Earlier this year, Microsoft released version 6.1 of the Windows Mobile operating system. This version includes an updated browser, which is supposed to make Internet surfing on a mobile phone look and feel like it does on a desktop.

Despite predictions for strong growth, Microsoft still faces tough competition, and it may have a hard time increasing its market share as competition intensifies. Along with its new iPhone 3G, Apple opened its App Store to wild success. Apple raked in about $30 million in sales of iPhone applications in the first month the store was open.

Also, new phones using Google's Android operating system are expected to hit the market soon. Google on Thursday announced Android Market, an online center that will let people find, buy, download, and rate applications and other content for mobile phones equipped with the open-source operating system.

[lmasanti]

quote:
" In the first quarter of 2008, sales of smartphones in the U.S. accounted for about 17 percent of all mobile phone sales, the NPD Group reported. This was an increase of 10 percent over the previous year."

How much of this "increase of 10 percent over the previous year" corresponds to the launch of iPhone?

quote:
"Microsoft has been working hard..."

Maybe, you meant: "Microsoft has been TRYING hard TO COPY APPLE'S SUCCESS"!

[setgo]

Monkey see, monkey do..

[Mr. Dee]

Imitation is flattery engine at Microsoft in full force.

[protagonistic]

Once again the company that wants the right to innovate follows...

[t26l]

@ joetesta70

You're an idiot. Find the right venue to vent your opinion!!!

[vmlenigma]

True that guy is A COMPLETE IDIOT

[Goodbye Helicopter]

What a joke.
This is MS like they did with J++ (Joke ++)
Eventually turning it into C#, ha.
This will be another zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Zune....

[krushyou]

Tell me what is so terrible about the Zune?

[DrtyDogg]

@krush: It's from MS and the Apple adds say MS is terrible so that must mean the Zune is terrible.

Simple enough deduction, even a sheep can do it.

[professionaladventurer]

Uh, I would not take that job, maybe descriptor should read: "successful applicant will be scapegoat exec level can blame for failing one more technology marketplace".

[Penguinisto]

Well, good luck if they can do it.

OTOH, the job description may as well read "24/7 apologist, avid reader of anything ending in apple.com, and someone who can turn lousy numbers into something that appears as if the entire world were scrambling to reach Microsoft's door".

Heh.

/P

[Vegaman_Dan]

Apple has all the apologists tied up right now with MobileMe and the iPhone fiasco, I'm afraid. It will be some time before they are available for the rest of the industry.

[kojacked]

pwned! Dan 1, Peng 0

Peng should know as he's someone who can turn lousy numbers into something that appears as if the entire world were scrambling to reach Linux's door

[Penguinisto]

ROTFL! Hey Dan! You got a cheerleader now!

Dunno what you;re speaking of concerning the iPhone and industry - most large corps I know of (except the one you work for -- Microsoft) already has pilot programs in place to integrate the iPhone.

The MobileMe fiasco(?) appears to have slipped below the radar (and I have yet to find someone in RL with an iPhone who complains about it).

[Vegaman_Dan]

Penguinisto:

I know you don't have an iPhone or Touch- you've stated as much. I do own a Touch and I do have to support and integrate the iPhone into systems at my job. Once you have a job where you have real world experience with this, then you will be able to talk from an experienced standpoint. Until then, you really have no idea what you are talking about, and are guessing at best.

Please don't even begin to talk about how you were the sys admin for a multibillion dollar publishing empire on multiple continents- that's just a farce and you know it. You worked for a small children's book publisher in Oregon.

[Penguinisto]

You too easily confuse personal ownership with being among colleagues throughout the industry who have to do the integration and support for smartphones (not only that, but I've done as much @ my last position, where it was an all-Crackberry shop. Ever run BES? It's fun once you know how).

BTW, Genius: this is my last week at my current employer, and they don't publish books (they make chips, and not of the potato variety) - dunno what you're on about there. I'm guessing you're still casting about in a feeble attempt to deny what you cannot defeat.

Tell you what - you can rag on me next week about not working for a multi-billion-dollar corp (I'll be starting w/ a relatively smaller company, but for a much better salary).

[DrtyDogg]

wow, the shills come out in force. Calling WMobile a copy cat is totally bogus. The number 2, (and let me remind you that the number 3 and 4 make boatloads of cash too and are not a bad place to be either) smartphone OS in the world with too many applications available to count, and the Apple apologists want to call them copy cats.
If this turns out to be true I would bet it would be little more than a re-branding of http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/catalog/cataloghome.aspx their current "app store" you know the one that's been around for years. Get over who was first because most of the time it wasn't Apple, you just didn't know about it because it wasn't promoted by Apple's PR machine.

Enough rant, It'll help a lot of the people who use windows mobile to find applications that are for the most part spread far and wide across the internet. Sounds like a good plan to me as long as they skip the authoritarian oversite of the iTunes app store.

[Penguinisto]

@DD:

#2? Not according to any credible source. Symbian is #1 globally (followed by Linux), and RIM (Blackberry) holds #1 in North America, followed by Apple (OSX) (Source: http://developer.symbian.com/main/getstarted/newsletter/MarketRoundUp/SymbianMarketRound-UpIssue2Oct07FINAL.pdf - mind the PDF doc).

Sorry, kid - but there's not much love for Windows in the mobile market - they're stuck at #3 globally and in North America (...and dropping from the looks of it).

One question I have though - why is Microsoft pimping an "App Store" like it were a new thing to them if they've had such as a successful online store as you assert?

/P

[krushyou]

Probably because with skymarket ANYONE will be able to make an app for it.

FYI the software to develop apps to create games and apps for the Zune has been out since April - I guess MS somehow copied them when it wasn't even out yet...

I am betting they are going to be use the same software for making games/apps for the x360 and Zune.

Also MS is #2

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/6671_The_State_of_the_Smartphone_Ma.php

Oh and http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/catalog/cataloghome.aspx

[DrtyDogg]

funny, your "credible source is a press release from one of the competitors," not only that it is a dead link from almost a year ago. NDP and Gartner both put WinMo as #2 last I saw though Blackberry is giving it a run. I didn't assert it was such a "successful store"(again you're making things up). I merely pointed out to the other kids that they have previously had a store. That it isn't always about imitating Apple it's about improving what they already have.

[Penguinisto]

@krushyou:

From your own (Symbian) cite: "Plus, even in their home territory of North America, Microsoft is now down to 3rd place in terms of their mobile platform (after RIM and Apple). If Microsoft don't pull a cat out of the bag very, very soon then their in big trouble." The second one is a mass of obfuscation from Microsoft (which has a nasty habit of not reporting numbers correctly, and for very obvious reasons).

@DD: Symbian has always posted Canalys numbers straight up. If you have a link to the NPD numbers, let's see it.

[DrtyDogg]

off hand some from around the Oct 07 are posted on wikipedia. Otherwise buy your own report.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Penguinisto: I've always been curious why you always find it necessary to attack all things Microsoft and talk about how it is failing when they show a steady profit and increased share price. For all the doom and gloom you tend to spout, it never actually approaches anything close to reality. It ends up simply being FUD, which you are quite well known for here. Why are you so afraid of Microsoft doing something good? What is your financial incentive to have them fail? It can't be an ego thing- nobody has an ego as big as that to justify your hatred. It can only be a monetary gain to explain your actions.

I could be wrong though, it is very possible you simply have an ego that large, but I'd rather think otherwise.

[Vegaman_Dan]

I love it when a company releases information on what product is more popular than others in that market. It's like Pepsi releasing a study about cola driinkers. Surprise, surprise, Pepsi would be tops and their competition would be less. If Coke releases a study, they are on top.

I'm not saying that the study is biased, but expecting or quoting Symbian's own press release and expecting it to be unbiased would be irresponsible.

Unfortunately there are those that are quite observant enough to know when the facts are beint twisted. I would think that having the survey being posted on symbian.com might have been a big enough clue to see the results are biased.

[Penguinisto]

@Dan:

Canalys is not owned by Symbian. Nor was Canalys' reports paid for by them. Deal, kiddo.

FWIW, I have no hatred of MSFT - I just happen to find their business practices to be corrupt, and their products to be lacking and outdated.

[limefan913]

I'm a Linux user for the desktop, but I love Windows Mobile 6, and I'd love to get my hands on a copy of 6.1 on my HTC Touch.

An App Store? Not terrible, but it better be good, and better not be the only way to install apps. If they remove the ability to just run an installer, I'll be pissed.

[kelmon]

I'm just shocked that it took this long for this idea to catch on. For some peculiar reason the announcement by Apple of the App Store for the iPhone was met with quite a few comments along the lines of "just Google for your applications" and the suggestion that requiring the user to trawl the Internet was a better means of distribution. In the same way as "bricks 'n' mortar" software stores have existed for many years as centralised places where a buyer can buy software, so they should have existed for years in the virtual environment (which they probably have, but just not prominently).

It doesn't really matter who came up the idea in the first place. It's a good idea and Apple deserves plaudits for having put it in place on Day 1. Other companies deserve a smack around the head from shareholders for having taken years to figure out that this is a good idea and something that customers like. Let's face it, the idea isn't exactly rocket science, is it?

[tekwiz4u]

Monkey see...monkey do....

[ServedUp]

Another classic case of Microsoft being the imitator instead of the innovator. This company has know original ideas. NONE whatsoever! Starting from Windows 1.0 which was based on the original Mac OS. Zune a poor imitation of the iPod. Vista another poor imitation of Mac OS X and The Surface another BS Microsoft product imitating Apple's own version of multi-touch features in iPhone software 1.0. If it wasn't for Apple creating all these markets Microsoft would still be forcing DOS and who knows what other buggy software down our throats if we lived in another dimension. Apple needs to take away more market share from Microsoft's Windows for the sake of the Tech Industry. This company just can't be the last one standing at the end of the day just because they discovered a business model back in the 90s (which actually slows innovation) that has allowed them to garner the "monopoly" they still own. The fact that there is still choice is because of Apple and its struggle for survival (which obviously they've earned). I mean what products have they earned that wasn't their own idea in the first place? I say its such complete BS that this company has all the riches they can afford to ape other companies out of their labours. Although competition is good. Competition from Microsoft just isn't good for the overall industry when you thoroughly look at what they actual bring to the market. They create nothing new that moves the industry forward only enters markets they feel they can own, backed by their war chest of money left over from the days of their slowly dying monopoly. Microsoft needs to shrink.

[krushyou]

You do realize Surface has been out far longer then the Iphone right?

Also you have been able to put applications on WinMo phones for quite sometime, Skymarket looks to be so anyone can do it, I suspect they will use the same software that is used for the Zune and X360

Vista was in development for 6 years, early builds before Apple started sprucing up their OS showed the same look
and theres a lot of things in Vista that are not in Apple but you know keep believing that Apple is 100% innovative...

While I agree OSX is a great OS its not 100% innovative either they borrow like everyone else does its the nature of business

Widgets actually existed in Windows 95 as active desktop - same concept smaller footprint

Zune also does many things different then Ipod

- It creates groups automatically when you are syncing and if you run out of room you can filter through those groups and remove them individually with how much space you need to allow to get the songs on

- Wireless gaming and free app/games (been out since April)
- They had widescreen before as well
- Dont know how it works on OSX but Itunes is garbage on Windows and doing simple drag and drop is a chore with Itunes but simple with the Zune.
- Sound quality is also better and they provide you with better headphones
- Can use wireless to sync new songs rather then plugging in (computer does not have to have wireless either just needs to be on a network)
- -firmware updates have applied for both 1st generation and 2nd and they didn't charge for the ability to add apps and games (I touch owners had to pay 9.95)

LOL! at struggle for survival - Apple refuses to allow OSX on non TCM hardware. They use the same exact components but Apple uses EFI and of course the firmware is different. You are basically paying $1000 to use OSX

I use both brands before you come back with some stupid comment; just pointing out the ignorance in your statements...

[krushyou]

For some reason unknown to man, the operating system war is the ONLY market where people complain that the competition is sharing ideas.

You never hear people complaining about cars, dvd players, computers, tvs etcetc

But when you put MS in it its always "ZOMG they are copying everyone!"

[RMarch]

Oh how the media and PR machines of this world can distort!

First of all, to Cnet. You have triggered a large discussion that MS is now readying an app store for WM based on your interpretation of a job posting. Most people in this thread have completely forgot that MS has not actually stated that it is now thinking of releasing an app store (this is conjured up to generate readership). As a previous reader stated, MS already has an app store for WM.

The app store is not highly regulated like the Apple app store and could stand better mobile integration, but of course Steve Jobs has made a monopolistic iron fisted approach cool now that he has decided to run the Apple store that way. And don't talk to me about the Google app store - please. They have not even released a v1 of their OS (Android) so any talk of an app store is pure vaporware. Anyone even slightly aware of the mobile market knows the saying that MS is following Google in the Mobile space is utterly ridiculous.

MS has relied on third party vendors to fill in much of its non core businesses to date. Even from an app store perspective, Handango has filled that gap nicely for years. The irony in this whole discussion is the uninformed masses are forcing MS hand to follow suit and bring things like the app store (and Zune Market place, etc.) in house. MS chosen strategy had always been let those that specialize in commerce bring those capabilities forward.

So in reality, it is the "open" companies of Apple and Goole, that are forcing MS to follow in an uber controlled offering (device, store, distribution all in one). No - I see Apple and Google for what they are - extremely successful companies making loads of cash. To do this they need good products (which they have), but they also have to be ruthless - no different than MS. They simply still have the upper hand with the uninformed masses.

[anebg]

Monkey get in trouble too!

[mailinglist11]

I dont get why they aren't just calling it

http://www.MobileAppStore.net
or
http://windows.mobileappstore.net

Cheers,
Dean

[JimMcDish]

If Windows Mobile is going to be anything like that piece of Junk Vista, I'll pass! I have enough headache with one Vista machine!

JR
http://www.useurl.us/17n

[shawndh]

I'm one of the few that actually like WM6 and Vista. They work great for me. I'm a little concerned about this application store thing for WM7. It could be a good thing and it could be a very bad thing if it's the only place to get stuff for your device. I also agree that the "uninformed masses" are forcing MS hand to develop more idiot proof products. Their software has endless capabilities, but who's got time to figure all that stuff out? So independent developers are left to that task.
I just hope this new direction doesn't leave the seasoned WM users out in the dust who are actually satisfied with their devices.