Windows Phone Marketplace Arrives in Five New Countries

Microsoft has expanded the availability of its Windows Phone Marketplace to a number of five new countries, namely Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and the Philippines.

All Windows Phone users in these countries can now benefit from access to appealing applications and games straight from their devices.

If the apps are not these yet, they will be very soon (it might take a few hours before they go live). However, those would like to access the apps will have to own Windows Phone 7.5-powered devices, Microsoft notes.

The launch of the application portal in these countries should make both users and software developers rejoice. For the latter, it translates into more downloads / purchases.

“I’m happy to report that the Windows Phone Marketplace is now officially open for business in 5 new markets around the world—Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, and the Philippines,” Microsoft’s Todd Brix noted in a recent blog post.

“We can’t wait to see all the great new apps you’ll create and publish for customers there,” he also stated.

Developers who would like to have their applications available for users in these countries will simply need to log into App Hub and select them from the list of available markets.

“As I mentioned a few weeks ago, if you’d like your existing apps to reach Windows Phone owners in these new places, just log into App Hub and select them from the list—or choose “worldwide” if you want your app to appear in all 41 of the markets Marketplace is now available in,” Todd Brix continues.

Even developers who have previously opted for worldwide availability of their applications will need to make this selection.

Soon, the Marketplace will arrive in even more countries around the world, including China. Microsoft is already accepting applications for this market (and for Indonesia and Malaysia), and should announce user access to the portal in the near future.

“Just a reminder that apps submitted to the Marketplaces for Indonesia, Malaysia and China (which is accepting apps but not yet open to consumers) will be subject to additional requirements due to local laws, regulations, or norms,” Todd Brix notes.

“For more details, see the Application Certification Requirements. If your app fails certification because of these additional requirements, you’ll need to update and resubmit it, or uncheck the submission boxes for those markets.”