I do think that the mobile marketplace for windows will be a huge success for Microsoft and windows mobile users alike. I think many people underestimate how many windows mobile applications that are out there. People closest to the real data say that there are actually more windows mobile apps than iPhone apps. This would stand to reason based on the long history of windows mobile. It should be interesting to watch all of this come together and to see how things turn out.

"...For that to happen, of course, it just has to get off the ground first." Yep, that's right. Remember, the Zune was supposed to be a direct competitor to the iPod...look how that turned out.

another Microsoft marketing paid for story. Beta News has zero credibility anymore. Every story is about how great Microsoft is and how much better than Apple Microsoft is. Give me a break. Win Mo is a horrible OS running on horrible hardware. The only people using it are using it because the idiots running their IT department forced it on them.

"Wah wah wah"

If you don't like it feel free to get your news elsewhere.

One more thing . . . Microsoft needs to change the name of the OS. Windows Mobile is too long and uncatchy. Like Bing they need to rebrand their mobile offering with a new name as well as a new UI.

The bigger issue that hampers Microsoft relative to Apple is the fact that Apple looks to make a profit off of the phone hardware and not the OS. So Apple keeps it customers happy by providing OS upgrades to its existing hardware and thus keep customers in their ecosystem content in the knowledge that if they do go buy that new whiz bang iPhone, Apple won't stop upgrading it a year later when the next one comes out.

Ultimately, Microsoft needs to exert more control over the hardware, app distribution and OS updates to compete in this environment. Ditch most of these bit players and make HTC the premier hardware manufacturer for WinMo. Allow OS upgrades to come from MS instead of these garbage brick your phone rom upgrades from the OEM. Finally, have a set distribution channel for apps with a pricing model similar to Apples. Other than Handago, you have to look all over the place to find WinMo apps and different ways to install (download cab file to phone or msi file on pc that will install or download the cab file to the phone to install).

Personally, I think MS should just scrap the WinCE kernel they have been using for ages and start anew with a new set of terms for the TELCO operators. Microsoft is good at stealing other peoples ideas and making them better . . . well they need to do it again to overturn the power Apple is building in the smartphone market.

"Microsoft needs to exert more control over the hardware, app distribution and OS updates to compete in this environment."

Sorry but I completely disagree. It is because of Apples control over their OS and app distribution that my next phone will likely be a WinMo OS. I don't want a phone that has my phone carrier playing app police over me.

ohh....Steve forgot about Windows Mobile apps. Shame.

Windows Mobile does not EVER counts as a valid mobile platform by any of these reporters!!!

This article might want to support its title ... I assume that this was either a [bad] quote from the WWDC ... or if it is a prediction, it should be supported better in the article...

I don't think that WinMo Marketplace will be a competitor as iPhone/iPod owners won't be shopping there and vice-versa. I think that comparing the G1, Blackberry and iPhone is more reasonable as those phones are more similar and their stores are more similar ... I know that WinMo is trying to get back into being relevant in the same manner -- but it's just too different -- and as a few people HAVE pointed out below -- many of the apps for WinMo are vaporware / abandonware ... it's like including all of the projects on SourceForge in estimating a number of applications available for Linux or what not...

"I don't think that WinMo Marketplace will be a competitor as iPhone/iPod owners won't be shopping there and vice-versa. I think that comparing the G1, Blackberry and iPhone is more reasonable as those phones are more similar and their stores are more similar"

Yeah, Winmo still has more users on their phones then iphone/touch FYI. Also Winmo Marketplace isn't even out yet how could you possibly know if the stores are more similar or not...
Finally, your dumbest argument, iphone users won't be using the windows mobile marketplace? Really? Wow, that is insightful since the store is for WINDOWS MOBILE devices. Who would have thunk it!

"I know that WinMo is trying to get back into being relevant in the same manner -- but it's just too different -- and as a few people HAVE pointed out below -- many of the apps for WinMo are vaporware / abandonware"

Yeah, hate to break it to you but apple's store isn't 50,000 apps of gold by any stretch of the imagination, there is A LOT of just plain garbage that is completely useless and again winmo marketplace has not launched yet so again you have no clue what you are talking about.

Pair this article with the one a few months back about MS tightening up the licensing with WinMo. According to that article there will soon be fewer players in the game. MS wants more control of hardware and the only way they have figured to do that is to limit the companies that make the phones.
Just food for thought, can't ever count MS out, toooo much money behind them.

Is the Zune Marketplace any competition for the iTunes store?

Already, Windows Mobile has become a niche platform in smart phones, similar to how Zune is a niche player among music players.

Anything is possible, but I'd expect more competition from Nokia than Microsoft since they have the dominance.

The problem is, of the 25,000 what percentage are now abandoned, or written for an earlier now unsupported version of WM. It doesn't matter how many app are available for a platform if they're unwanted, unneeded, or don't work.

This 25,000 is a relative value, as not all apps work on all phones. And they may or may not be compatible with either WinMo 6.5 or 7.0. And then they have to be updated to work even reasonably well on new touch-screen models (as a button/cursor based UI should be designed quite differently from a touch-based UI).

And all those developers still have the feature problem. Namely, every phone model has different features. Screen sizes are all different (color/resolution/bit depth), some have keyboards, some are touch-only, some have a couple of configurable (or non configurable) buttons, varying processor speed and memory constraints. These things make developing for WinMo devices WAY more difficult than for the iPhone.

Or, developers can focus on just one or a couple of WinMo devices to make development & testing comparable to that of the iPhone, but then they have the problem that iPhone sales are comparable to the sales of lumping ALL WinMo devices together, so sales of specific models are MUCH lower.

And I forgot another important issue with MS. Their total prostration before the wireless telcos.

So both WinMo 6.5 and WinMo 7.0 both start out with ZERO for an install-base. Because everybody in the supply chain except MS wants you to buy a new phone. The phone manufacturer, and the wireless telco both don't want you to just be able to upgrade your existing phone (and thus, no software upgrade for you). In particular, the telco's need you to buy a new phone so they can lock you into a new extended contract. And Microsoft doesn't have the balls or will to get them to permit upgrading the OS of existing phones.

Meanwhile, Apples existing install base easily AND FOR NO CHARGE (or $10 for the iPod Touches) can upgrade their iPhone to Apple's latest OS, so the day after iPhone OS 3.0 is released, the install base will be in the millions for it. So developers can use new OS 3.0-only features knowing that there are millions of people with phones that can buy new apps, starting on day 1.

IN. YOUR. DREAMS. Wow that is bs. Not a chance that's even remotely true.