14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft seems keen on having as many mobile applications as possible included in the Windows Phone Marketplace, and it already started to take additional steps towards making sure that this happens.
To be more precise, the company decided to increase the number of free apps that developers were allowed to add to the software portal from only 5 to up to 100, and it already made the announcement to devs (via WPCentral).
The change is a major one, especially since developers can add these applications to the Windows Phone Marketplace without having to pay for that.
For paid applications, developers have to pay a $20 app submission charge, which does not apply to the free software they submit to the portal.
According to Microsoft, the five apps limit was put up initially so as to prevent developers from pushing out a load of free applications, but it seems that the company changed its heart on the matter.
What should be interesting to note is that the move comes shortly after Microsoft banned a series of open-source, free applications from the Marketplace (actually, it banned the open-source licenses used with those apps, and the software was consequently removed).
As stated above, allowing developer to add a number of up to 100 free applications to the storefront is a clear sign that Microsoft is trying to bump in any way possible the development of software for its mobile platform.
Another proof of this state of facts comes from the fact that the company is encouraging employees to come up with applications for the mobile OS.
Apparently, over 3,000 Microsoft employees already registered their interest in having applications added to the Marcketplace, a recent article on New York Times reads.
Not to mention that the software giant is paying them just as it would pay any other developer submitting applications to the Marketplace: 70 percent to them, 30 percent to Microsoft.
Some earlier reports suggested that the Windows Phone Marketplace has all the chances to become the third app store in the world in the next few years. The fact that Microsoft partnered with Nokia a few weeks ago should drive the development of apps for the platform upwards as well.