Windows Mobile Marketplace controversy – what the developers say

The recent revelation that Microsoft will be charging for updates to applications in the marketplace has caused quite a hubbub in the Windows Mobile community, but its of course the developers which are most affected.

WMExperts has done a straw poll of developers and this is what they had to say:

Victoria Krasilshikova, the corporate communications manager for SPB said “We are very excited to see [Marketplace] go live,”  “The reasons are clear – still a relatively small percentage of smartphone owners (including Windows phone owners) actually purchase software for their handsets, the reason being the complexity of the process itself, the uncertainty of success — will the … paid-for application actually launch on your phone?

“There are problems with credibility for all developers, even SPB. And still even today, most users don’t even suspect that their phones can do more and can perform better. So, we really hope that the [Marketplace] will combat this problem.”

Resco’s Marcel Saffa said “I think Windows Mobile Marketplace is a good idea. Resco really appreciates Microsoft’s step. Such a system surely will shorten the way in which a user can download and buy applications.

“We plan to update all our applications as soon as we’re able.”

Not as large as Resco or SpB, Birdsoft, Extreme Agenda developer had this to say: “Each additional 5 tokens would still be better than this and accomplish the same benefits without choking out some very good apps and updates from their store. The cost of reviewing the applications should be included in the 30% to start with and updates should be a much less stringent process than the initial application submission…

Essentially, it will likely choke out a lot of good applications on launch.

It hurts the guys with a little bigger catalogs and will hold back updates. Not necessarily what you want to do to make the store successful.

But ultimately I am still very excited for its launch…”

Vince Koser is a smaller freeware developer, the author of the popular Windows Mobile Twitter client ceTwit, which he distributes free from his blog, Kosertech.com. They are the ones most likely affected by the update policy.

Koser writes “I think the 5 application submissions a year is realistic,I think it will cut down somewhat on the “2-hours-to-develop, try-to-turn-a-quick-buck type applications that we are seeing in the iPhone AppStore, which isn’t a bad thing.

“On the down side, it might deter someone from making an application they wanted to give away free that might be really good if they have already released 5 items for the year.”

“I think that we need to realize that the distribution model as I understand it isn’t going to prevent me from continuing to distribute my application as I do now,” ceTwit’s Koser said. “So if I want to release some free software, I think I will still have the option to just put it up on the web as I do now.”

Read more at WMExperts.com