By Andrew Berg
Microsoft today announced that Windows Marketplace for Mobile will begin accepting mobile application submissions for all 29 supported countries on July 27, in advance of its launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 in the fall.
The new Windows Marketplace for Mobile will support Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 by the end of 2009. Microsoft says it's working closely with the developer community to build the strongest possible partner opportunity into the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The company will announce details of an application development contest when the Marketplace for Mobile opens later this month.
Microsoft is arguably a bit behind in bringing its application offerings to market. Apple, Nokia, Research In Motion, Palm and Android have all rolled out their respective stores in the past year. While everyone is playing a game of catch-up, few realized the difficulty of duplicating Apple’s success with the Apple App Store.
Most recently, the Palm Pre was widely criticized for launching its iPhone competitor alongside a mobile applications store that had little to offer in the way of smartphone add-ons. Some observers say an available catalog of applications and widgets has become a major factor for consumers when deciding on a device.