Microsoft boosts W8 with generous developer deals
Windows 8 store could offer 80% cut to programmers, but uncertainty remains over whether desktop apps will come to ARM platform
Published: 8 December, 2011
READ MORE: App Store | Tablet | Windows Phone
Microsoft knows that boosting its applications base will be the secret to success once its operating systems make their latest push into the ARM-based portable device territory. WP7 is already battling to accumulate a software base to rival that of Android and iOS, and Windows 8, which spans ARM and x86 for the first time, will come with a host of initiatives to whet developer appetites in the tablet and cloudbook sectors.
For one, developers of apps which generate at least $25,000 a month will get to take home 80% of the revenues, according to ZDnet, while others will keep 70%, the level offered by Apple and Google in their mobile storefronts. The new pricing structure is likely to be made public next week at a Microsoft developers' summit.
The software giant has indicated that Windows 8 will be available in beta release in the first quarter of 2012 with commercial products late in the year. Among other developments, that will take Microsoft into the touchscreen tablet space for the first time, as it has confined its current ARM-based OS, WP7, for small displays.
The new pricing model will apply only to apps written with the new Metro framework, which supports the x86/ARM crossover as well as a heavily cloud-oriented approach centered on standards like HTML5. However, doubts remain over the future program for traditional x86 desktop apps, and whether they will run unchanged on ARM-based products.
As Microsoft unveiled details of its W8 store, it was clear how much it has borrowed from WP7, which made several genuine breakthroughs in the user experience, even though its progress against iOS and Android has been slow. The upcoming shopfront will have a tile interface similar to WP7's 'Metro' styling and will feature built-in search, categories for popular apps, and a system for personalized recommendations. Users will be able to download trial editions of applications alongside full editions, with all licensing and payments going through the Windows Store.
Developers have so far downloaded more than one million copies of the developers' kit for WP7, but so have created only about 40,000 apps, compared to more than 500,000 apps for iOS and 250,000 for Android. This time, Microsoft knows it must gain greater apps momentum ahead of a new OS launch to ensure a high impact on its debut.
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