Microsoft on Wednesday is offering up more details on its would-be rival to the iPhone's app store.
The software maker said it will charge developers $99 a year, plus $99 for each application they submit to get an app into the Windows Marketplace store. Through the end of this year, though, developers who register will be able to submit five applications at no additional charge.
The software maker defended the charge: "Microsoft will run a rigorous certification process to ensure that the end user's experience is optimal, and that the device and network resources aren't used in a malicious way," a Microsoft representative said in a statement. "This process has a significant cost and Microsoft believes $99 is an acceptable cost of doing business for (software developers) looking to get in front of millions of customers."
The software maker pledged that it will also offer developers "complete transparency throughout the application submission process" as well as direct feedback. Apple has been criticized for being slow to respond to developer questions while an application is in the approval process, as well as providing developers with little information as to why certain applications were rejected.
Developers who choose to charge for their programs will keep 70 percent of the proceeds. (Free titles will also be allowed). By comparison, Apple also gives developers 70 percent of app sales through its App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Research In Motion has pledged to give developers an 80 percent cut in their forthcoming store.
Microsoft announced plans for the mobile application store at last month's Mobile World Congress. The store is set to debut with the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 in the fourth quarter of this year.
The software maker plans to let developers start registering in the spring and begin submitting applications this summer.
Microsoft also said it was launching a sales and marketing program to help developers, though it didn't say how large that program will be.
Microsoft hasn't committed to any iPhone apps. However, if I was a betting woman, I would put my money on something coming from Microsoft's Tellme unit.
Tellme is the speech recognition company that Microsoft bought last year. Among its many products is one that lets you speak a search term into a phone and get back a screen with information--say the location of the nearest gas station or pizza parlor.
Tellme CEO-turned-Microsoft executive Mike McCue has been spending a lot of time these days integrating his voice search technology with Windows Mobile. However, Tellme has also continued to work with Microsoft's rivals in the cell phone business. In fact, Tellme's latest software was released first for the BlackBerry.
McCue, who sports a 20th anniversary Mac on his desk and praises Apple for its design, has made it clear he wants to be wherever the mobile customers are.
"We want to be on every phone possible," he said in an interview earlier this year.
He also noted that while the iPhone is seen as the be-all and end-all of mobile gadgets, it is actually fairly cumbersome and a two-handed job to search for local listings. No matter how great a touch screen is, he says, saying what you are looking for, if done right, can be much faster.
To switch a song on the iPhone, he noted, takes six clicks on the iPhone.
"Changing tunes on your iPhone is a dangerous experience," he said.
As elegant as the iPhone is--and McCue gives it lots of credit--what's really needed, McCue said, is a new interface. Not surprisingly, he sees voice as a big part of the solution.
It's not surprising, as Microsoft works to catch up to Apple, that McCue's team has been spending a lot more time lately on mobile applications, working closely with the group developing Windows Mobile 7--the next version of Microsoft's cell phone operating system.
"We want to make Windows Mobile better," McCue said, but added quickly, "Tellme will be available on all mobile operating systems."
When Apple launched its App Store on Thursday, I checked to see if I could find anything from Redmond.
There were applications from Salesforce.com and Oracle, but nothing from Microsoft. The company has made some noise about wanting to be on the iPhone, particularly with Silverlight, but it doesn't appear the software maker has anything imminent.
"I'm not aware of anything," said Scott Horn, a general manager in Microsoft's mobile communications business. Microsoft has said that it was looking at Apple's software developer kit and I wouldn't be surprised if some business units take the plunge, particularly folks like the Dynamics group that competes with the likes of Oracle and Salesforce.
The other key issue is what is Microsoft going to do about the noise that's inevitably going to be generated now that the iPhone is "open" to third-party developers. While there is much to knock Microsoft about when it comes to the mobile space, being open isn't really its problem.
For years, Microsoft has had an open platform with Windows Mobile. Developers can sell or give away any program they want to run on Microsoft's handhelds and phones. They don't need Microsoft's approval, nor is Microsoft looking to take a cut of the action. (Apple gets 30 percent of software sold via the App Store, although it does handle hosting and transaction services.)
"We have a really vibrant ecosystem," Horn said. "We have more apps than any other platform and we have more developers targeting us."
Horn said he expected Apple to get a fair amount of attention for its App Store.
"If you go from zero to 500 (third-party applications) it looks like you're exploding," he said, adding that Microsoft has nearly 18,000 applications.
"We have more applications and more phones in the hands of people and that's what matters at the end of the day," he said.
I asked Horn if he thought it was important to have a Microsoft version of the App Store right on Windows Mobile devices. He noted that Microsoft does have an online catalog (for the PC) that offers information about each program and connections to partners where you can buy the applications.
Probably the closest thing to the App Store is a third-party reseller called Handango that sells programs for Windows Mobile, as well as for Palm OS, Symbian, and Linux devices.
The real issue for Microsoft, though, is the iPhone itself.
Apple has a clear lead in areas like user interface and Web browsing. Microsoft has promised to close the gap. The next version of Windows Mobile--Windows Mobile 7--is expected to have similar touch gestures as the iPhone.
On the browsing front, Microsoft has pledged to improve things somewhat, bringing Internet Explorer 6 capability to Windows Mobile by the end of the year.
"Mobile browsing is super important," Horn said, though he wouldn't say whether the new browser will have support for the features like zooming and gestures that have been popularized by the iPhone.
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