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Windows Phone app Marketplace headed to web

By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, May 26th, 2011 at 10:16 AM
WindowsPhone-web

As Microsoft starts putting up the shutters on their Windows Mobile app marketplace, a fresh browser-based store is in the works for the upcoming Mango release. The web store will host the usual fare, like reviews, screenshots, purchasing, searching, and parental controls. Marketplace apps can be shared via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. Once you buy an app (which is billed to the credit card already associated with your Windows Live ID) the app can automatically start downloading over the air on your phone. Kind of neat, and better than RIM’s clunky USB installation in their web-based app store.

Although the Windows Phone app scene is younger than webOS, Microsoft has managed to outpace it with over 18,000 titles currently available. That’s even starting to horn in on BlackBerry App World’s 20,000-ish (as of February), though RIM is likely to pull ahead once they start accepting Android apps for the PlayBook.

A web presence is really great for discoverability, especially when blogs like ours need somewhere to link to when talking about all of the cool new apps coming out.

[via Windows Team Blog]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • http://brothatech.com/ Terrance Gaines

    “A web
    presence is really great for discover-ability, especially when blogs
    like ours need somewhere to link to when talking about all of the cool
    new apps coming out.”

    You can say that again! I’m tired of rummaging through 3rd-Party online app stores to find good apps to write about

    No disrespect, son!