Microsoft to join software store race next month

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Microsoft to join software store race next month

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 21 January, 2009

READ MORE: Microsoft

The long awaited Microsoft mobile applications store, Skymarket, is set to debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, along with its promised upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5. This will show the software giant accepting that the main way to keep Windows alive in the cellphone world will be to create a far wider range of integrated web services, as Apple has already done.

Along with Skymarket, which should look similar to Apple's successful iPhone App Store, there will be Skybox, a cloud service that is expected to resemble the iPhone's MobileMe. This allows smartphone users to back-up, restore, sync and share data, and Microsoft should also release a business version for Exchange, called Skyline.

The billion dollar question for Microsoft, and the mobile software world, is whether these new products will remain Windows-only. The company faces the dilemma of whether to keep its business dependent on its own proprietary operating system, in the world of open source and cross-platform development - and the dilemma is particularly acute in the smartphone market, where Windows has failed to make a major impact. Many analysts expect Skybox and others to appear, after a Windows launch, for other platforms including Linux-based ones.

The blueprint for mobile storefronts, App Store, has crossed yet another milestone, with 15,000 original applications now available and 500m downloads to date, since launch in July. That means about 83m downloads per month, and sets the pace for other stores, such as Android Market, and offerings from Palm and RIM. Despite complaints about Apple's over-rigid policing of its store, it has so far attracted a far greater following than other integrated handset/application offerings.

RIM is mounting its own challenge and is now accepting developer submissions for its Application Storefront for BlackBerry devices. Apps have to be downloadable wirelessly and must be usable without requiring customization or integration services. RIM is working with PayPal for transactions, and developers will get to keep 80% of the revenue, compared to 70% in the App Store and 100% in Android Market (which is only just starting to support paid-for programs at all).