Microsoft helps devs port iPhone apps to Windows Mobile
By Will Park on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 11:24 AM PST In Announcements, Applications, Developer, Windows Mobile, iPhone OS
So you’re an iPhone developer. You love how easy it is to develop powerful iPhone apps with rich user experiences. But, you can’t help but think of the millions upon millions of Windows Mobile Windows Phone users that have never even heard of your app. Well, we have some good news for you. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has posted a new technical document that should make it a little easier for iPhone devs to port their apps to the Windows Mobile platform.
Microsoft documented on developer’s experience in porting the Amplitude iPhone app to the Windows Mobile platform, and highlights specific challenges that needed to be overcome – like getting the alpha-blended UI ported correctly. The document, entitled “Porting the Amplitude Application from the iPhone to a Windows Mobile Device – a Case Study,” follows Luke Thompson as he ported Amplitude to Windows Mobile 6.5.
All the technical details can be found here. For the non-developers out there, the important take-away here is that Microsoft is embracing the iPhone developer community. Rather than trying to take on the AppStore head-on, Microsoft has realized that they can leverage the AppStore’s incredible catalog of iPhone apps to help populate the Windows Marketplace. We see it as a smart move for Microsoft.
Now, about that Windows Phone branding….
[Via: WindowsTeamBlog]
This may sound cynical, but I am not surprised that Microsoft now is developing apps for their phones. But this is typical of Microsoft to follow in the footsteps of Apple!
If MS finds a way to port most apps from the iphone to WinMO Apple will cry and start a law suit. Maybe between Palm and MS Steve Jobs will have a nervous breakdown and have to be committed.