Microsoft Discusses Homebrew Apps on Windows Phone 7 with ChevronWP7 Team

Redmond-based software giant Microsoft met with the developers who are part of the ChevronWP7 team, Rafael Rivera, Chris Walsh and Long Zheng to discuss the state of homebrew application development for the company's Windows Phone 7 mobile platform.

The team was not complete at the meeting, as Chris Walsh had some problems with the visa and could not come to the United States.

As one can see in the photo attached to this article, which was published by Long Zheng, the team met with Brandon Watson and Larry Lieberman of Microsoft’s Windows Phone developer experience team.

A recent article on WinRumors notes that the meeting, which took place on Monday, was focused on determining Microsoft to offer support for homebrew applications on Windows Phone 7.

“In addition to our homebrew focus, we will also be pushing for stronger protection of WP7 developer intellectual property (IP) on the platform as we believe both can co-exist on the platform,” wrote a spokesperson, the news site reports.

For those out of the loop, we should note that the team came up with the first unlock tool for the Windows Phone 7 platform.

Released in November, the application was pulled only a weeks after, as soon as the team was contacted by Microsoft, and the said meeting planned.

Apparently, Microsoft is set to offer support for the homebrew community and for this type of applications built for the platform, although it normally charges developers $99 a year for distributing their applications via the Marketplace.

The security hole that enabled the team to release the unlocking tool will be patched in the next Windows phone 7 software update, which should arrive in a matter of months (some suggested it could arrive in February).

Both Microsoft and the ChevronWP7 team are expected to unveil more on the homebrew application development in the near future, as soon as they come to a consensus.