14 DAY TRIAL // This fall, Microsoft should bring make available a new flavor of the Windows Phone mobile application, one that would bring new features into the mix for both end-users and for application developers.
Codenamed Mango, the new platform version would be accompanied by new Windows Phone Developer Tools, as well as by as series of new, highly appealing applications that users have been asking for.
At the MIX11 conference, Microsoft promised an improved OS, along with an expanded Windows Phone ecosystem, providing developers with new opportunities, and bringing new functionality in users' hands.
The ecosystem is already expanding impressively fast, with over 38,000 registered developers, and more than 13,000 mobile applications already available for download via the Windows Phone Marketplace. 35 countries support creation and commerce of apps, Microsoft notes.
Some of the opportunities that will be available through Windows Phone Marketplace include:
- More countries – 35 countries with creation and commerce, up from 16 with the first version of Windows Phone - Expanded reach – dedicated games Marketplace, parental controls and new beta distribution service - Improved discoverability – exposure through Bing Search “extras,” expanded search functionality and new merchandising opportunities - Additional monetization opportunities – more mobile operator billing, expanded country support for advertising SDK - Streamlined processes – App Hub application submission, update, management and reporting capabilities
More devs are expected to join the Windows Phone party, and more applications should be released in the Marketplace, including software like Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping and Kik Messenger, the company announced.
One of the next-generation Windows Phone apps that was unveiled at MIX11 is Kik Messenger, which, according to the development team, came to life in almost no time using the Windows Phone Developer Tools.
“We had been doing Android and iPhone for over a year. Within one month, we’d developed our first app for Windows Phone 7,” Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik Interactive stated
But this is not all. Other appealing applications are also on their way to the platform, including the highly popular Angry Birds game, which is already available on Android, iOS, Symbian or webOS, and which should land on Windows Phone 7 on May 25th.
The Windows Phone Developer Tools have been downloaded over 1.5 million times, Microsoft announced, adding that it would deliver a new version of the software in May, so as to offer developers access to new functionality of the platform, and to enable the creation of augmented reality apps.
Layar, the Reality Browser already available on Android and iPhone, would arrive on Windows Phone soon, the company announced.
“Developers are, in many ways, the best early indicators in terms of how successful an ecosystem is going to be,” Matt Bencke, general manager of developer and marketplace for Windows Phone said. “As we come out with more cool hardware, more software features and more services enabled, more people will buy more Windows Phones. Developers are savvy and they know that.”