Windows Marketplace for Mobile was a service by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

for its

Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants. Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...

platform that allowed users to browse and download applications that had been developed by third parties. The service was available for use directly on Windows Mobile 6.x devices (versions earlier than 6.5 require downloading a free Windows Marketplace for Mobile application) and on personal computers. It was announced at the 2009

Mobile World Congress MWC Barcelona (formerly but still commonly referred to as Mobile World Congress) is an annual trade show organised by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry. The event is held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain at the Fir ...

, and began operation on 6 October 2009, featuring an initial 246 applications. Initially it was available only for Windows Mobile 6.5, and was made available to older 6.x versions a few weeks later. On February 15, 2010 Microsoft announced its next generation mobile platform named

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...

; there is a separate app store,

Windows Phone Store Windows Phone Store (originally known as Windows Phone Marketplace) was an app store platform, developed by Microsoft corporation for Windows Phone letting users installing various apps on their device. It initially launched with Windows Phone ...

, for it; WM6.x apps are not compatible with WP7. From July 15, 2011

applications could no longer be downloaded from the website, but only by signing into Marketplace for Mobile on a phone. Marketplace for Mobile was shut down on May 22, 2012.PSA: Windows Mobile Marketplace shutting down today , The Verge
/ref>

Pricing and features

Windows Marketplace for Mobile, available through applications for Windows Mobile and personal computers, offered a 24-hour return policy for buyers, and 70% of each application sale was paid to developers. A one-time $99 USD fee for developers to list an unlimited number of paid applications or up to five free applications yearly in the store was charged by Microsoft. After five free applications were listed for the year, each additional free application could be listed for a $19.99 USD fee. Microsoft accepted payment from buyers through credit cards and

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charges. Students who were members of Microsoft's

DreamSpark Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching or simply Azure Dev Tools for Teaching is a Microsoft program to provide students with Microsoft software design, Microsoft developer tools, Cloud Computing Access and learning resources. The program is a ...

program could submit applications to the store for free, waiving the $99 USD fee. Carriers had the ability to create a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ed section of the store to market carrier-specific applications and services for their customers.

Content restrictions

Microsoft did not distribute certain types of apps, including those with sexual content, via the Marketplace. Banned applications include: * Sex and nudity – Images that are suggestive or sexual (e.g. sexually provocative touching, bondage) or provocative images that reveal full nudity. * Any adult or borderline adult content (images or text). * Content that generally falls under the category of pornography.

History

Rumors about the service began to surface around the internet in September 2008, whereas it was referred to as "Skymarket", and was to appear with the Windows Mobile 7 release. Rumors stemmed from an online job listing from Microsoft's website calling for a "Senior Product Manager". On February 16, 2009, Microsoft made an official announcement for the service at the 2009

for use with upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. The company then announced that availability of the service would be by the end of 2009. The store opened for business on 6 October 2009, featuring 246 applications. On November 12, 2009, the Marketplace web application was opened. The Marketplace website announced in mid-2011: "On July 15th 011this website will no longer offer Windows Mobile 6.x applications for download. If you have a Windows Mobile 6.x phone you can continue accessing the application store from the Marketplace client on your phone. ... ou mustsign into Marketplace for Mobile on your phone ... to buy apps". It was later announced that Marketplace for Mobile would be discontinued on May 9, 2012.Redmond Channel Partner: Microsoft Shuttering Windows Mobile Marketplace in May, March 9, 2012
/ref> On July 15, 2011, Microsoft announced that they will no longer be accepting submissions for new applications or updates to existing ones.http://www.winrumors.com/windows-mobile-6-x-funeral-on-july-15-no-more-apps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windows Marketplace For Mobile Windows Mobile Microsoft software Mobile software distribution platforms

Pricing and features

Content restrictions

History

See also

References