If you were hoping to download some naughty apps for your upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphone, you’re out of luck because Microsoft will be taking Apple’s lead and not allow sexually-suggestive apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
This was just part of the new policies Microsoft laid out for its upcoming mobile platform, which is expected to hit by the end of the year. Developers will be able to purchase a membership for $99 a year to submit an unlimited number of paid programs, and the devs will get the industry-standard 70% cut of the revenue. Apple has been on a crusade lately to rid its App Store of sexually-explicit content, but some say it hasn’t done enough to rid the store of the filth. It looks like porn aficionados will have to go to Android for porn apps, just like Steve Jobs suggested.
Other than the porn thing, Microsoft’s standards for app approval are about what you’d expect. Developers will have to make sure their products are reliable, make efficient use of resources, free of malicious software and do not interfere with the phone’s functionality. A cool thing is that devs will be able to offer time-based trials, which should open up a host of business models.
Some of the other requirements include: apps can’t sell mobile voice plans, over-the-air (3G) installations may not exceed 20 MB, and IM programs need to make sure the user is over 13 years old. Microsoft will also not allow super graphic violence but it seems like it will be a bit more lenient with apps than Apple is.
Remember folks, the Marketplace for Mobile will be the only place to get WP7 apps, as the company is killing outside stores. The software giant is pushing the platform as a business tool and corporations will still have to use the Marketplace to deploy enterprise apps. These enterprise apps can be private and only accessible for certain users, though, so you don’t have to worry about Joe Sixpack having access to your corporate database through the app store.
[Via Microsoft (PDF)]