Windows Marketplace for Mobile,
Windows 7 X64, Microsoft;s equivalen to the Apple;s iPhone App Shop, opened for organization officially on October six with 246 programs.
Indeed, that is nowhere near the far more than 85,
Office Pro 2010,000 apps in the App Retailer. But Microsoft officials claimed not to be discouraged through the disparity. At Microsoft;s consumer-focused open-house showcase in Ny Metropolis today, company officials mentioned that the corporation has 753 independent software program vendors operating on Windows Mobile ports.
Robbie Bach,
Office 2010 Discount, the President of Microsoft;s Amusement and Units Unit, informed press and analysts that he was upbeat about Microsoft;s progress.
“Apple had less than 100 applications when it first launched its marketplace,” Bach said. (I did a quick search and found a story claiming that number was actually closer to 500, when Apple launched its retailer in 2008.)
Bach also claimed it was “kind of goofy” to focus on the absolute numbers of applications in Microsoft;s Windows Mobile store, since the real measure of success is how many of those applications get used.
Bach told press and analysts who attended a private roundtable that there are far more than 20,000 applications available for Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 phones — and even if the applications concentrated on specific business verticals and IT tasks are subtracted, there are still “tens of thousands” of Windows Mobile apps out there.
The newly launched Windows Marketplace for Cellular currently only works with Windows Mobile six.5 phones, which launched right now. Microsoft officials have said that the Market will also be accessible to Windows Cellular 6 and 6.1 phones before the end of the year. But that doesn;t mean the current crop of Windows Cellular 6 and six.1 apps get an automatic berth inside the Windows Market; they still need to go through the certification and evaluation process.
Windows Live services – other than instant messaging — aren;t are going to become available via the Marketplace. Windows Live Hotmail will be included with all Windows Mobile phones,
Microsoft Office Professional 2010, but the some other Windows Live services will be available preloaded on select phones, since “operators are trying to monetize this space separately,” as Aaron Woodman, Director of Product Management for Windows Cellular informed me right now. (Note: Corrected my misunderstandings here.)
Microsoft also officially “turned on” the commercial version of its My Phone premium service for Windows Mobile users on October 6. (My Phone is the service formerly codenamed Skybox.) The final version of the service includes several new capabilities that were not part of the beta service. These are: Social networking integration: Direct access to Facebook and other social-networking services is available from the My Phone cloud.
Windows Cellular phones set to vibrate are able to be made to ring (at a high volume) via My Phone to help users locate lost phones.
Windows Cellular phones may be locked and set to post a message via My Phone. (Example: “MJF;s phone. $50 bucks for its return. Call xxx.”)
Windows Cellular phones may be located on a GPS map via the service (in case they are stolen or lost)
Windows Mobile phones may be wiped of data and reprogrammed remotely via My Phone. Windows Cellular six.0, six.1 or six.5 users can access these services, which Microsoft considers to become a “premium pack” for free until Nov. 30,
Office Pro 2010 Key, 2009. After that date, seven-day access to the premium package will be available for purchase for $4.99.