Microsoft to Push Hard for Windows Phone 8 and Its Marketplace

In addition to working hard on making Windows 8 available for launch before the end of this year, Microsoft is also making sure that Windows Phone 8 will be ready for launch this fall.

The company already announced plans to put the platform on shelves in time for the holiday season, and also said that there would be a great deal of enhancements available for both developers and end-users when it arrives.

Among these, we can count a greatly expanded availability of the Windows Phone Marketplace, set to reach three times the current foothold in Windows Phone 8.

A total of 180 countries should benefit from access to the application portal when the new OS version arrives, Microsoft announced, while also offers specific info on these markets.

The screenshot that can be seen below will offer a comprehensive view of the markets where the portal is currently available and on those where it should be released along with Windows Phone 8.

Microsoft also announced the expanded availability of app submissions for developers around the world. The App Hub was previously available in only 38 markets globally.

Over 100,000 applications are already available in the Marketplace, all of which would be accessible for Windows Phone 8 users as well, Microsoft announced.

Additionally, the company is making sure that the building of software for the platform is easier than before, especially since it shares a common core with Windows 8, something that was reiterated last week during the TechEd EMEA 2012 conference in Amsterdam.

Overall, it appears that Microsoft is set to make a big push for the upcoming mobile platform right from the start.

The OS will deliver a better experience, courtesy of both better hardware and a host of new features, and it will also benefit from a better application ecosystem than before, and from expanded worldwide availability.

Not to mention that Windows Phone 8 devices will be able to better communicate with Windows 8 computers, so that users would be able to stay on top of their lives easier than before.