The portal will reach 231 markets, some with localized content

Dec 7, 2011 09:44 GMT  ·  By

On Tuesday, Microsoft has showcased the upcoming Windows Store during an event in San Francisco, when both developers and journalists were present.

The company announced that the new storefront will be available in the upcoming Windows 8 Beta platform release, and that it will be accompanied by a web version accessible from other platforms as well.

Just as the company announced back in September, the Windows Store is aimed to become the main distribution channel for Metro style apps for Windows 8 devices, and should also offer developers new means to boost revenues.

For end-users, Microsoft focuses on coming up with an overall design of the Store that would make apps easily discoverable, providing them with a series of way-finding and promotion mechanisms that include search, category browse, ranking lists and more.

The overall experience that users will receive from the Store is consistent with Windows 8, Microsoft explains.

In addition to having applications organized in categories like ‘the latest,’ ‘most popular’ or ‘fast rising,’ the company will also enable discoverability of software through web search engines, while supporting direct linking to app webpages.

“The web search result will point to a web version of the app listing, which we publish based on the same content provided for the Store app listing,” Ted Dworkin, partner director of Program Management on the Windows Web Services, explains.

“If you are running Windows 8, the page directs you to the Store. If you don’t have Windows 8, the page says the app is available on Windows 8.”

Moreover, developers will be able to promote apps on their own websites, both by slapping the “available in Windows Store” tag to them, and via a built-in promotion through Internet Explorer 10.

“With just a line of markup, your website promotes your app via the app button within the browser, visible to anyone running Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8,” Dworkin notes.

“The app button on a Windows 8 PC takes you to the app listing in the Store or directly to the app, if it’s installed.”

The Windows Store will be available for users in a number of 231 markets all around the world, and will include both free and paid applications.

In addition to a series of market-specific catalogs, which will be tailored specifically for the needs of users in those areas, there will also be a “rest of world” (ROW) catalog accessible to all other countries.

“Developers can choose the catalogs in which their app is listed, and we will continue to increase the number of market-specific catalogs and payment providers over time as we evolve the Store service,” Ted Dworkin continues.

As stated above, the Windows Store will live in the upcoming Windows 8 Beta platform release, which is expected to arrive sometime in February next year.

When available with the Beta iteration of Windows, the Store will include only free applications. Paid applications will emerge in the app store in a future milestone.

“Beta will help test and reinforce our scale model. It’s a feedback opportunity regarding our onboarding and certification process, and a chance for developers to get early feedback on their Metro style apps,” Dworkin explains.

Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 M3 is available for download from Softpedia via this link.

Photo Gallery (6 Images)

Windows Store for Windows 8
Windows Store for Windows 8Windows Store for Windows 8
+3more