Want to Develop Apps for Windows Mobile?

Developers looking to create and sell applications for the Windows Mobile OS will be subject to a new set of rules by Microsoft, the company has announced.

But rather than impose strict regulations, the new rules are designed to ease the process for developers and help them reap more revenue through the recently announced Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

For an annual registration fee of $99 (£70), developers will be able to submit up to five applications to the Marketplace, and additional submissions will be $99 (£70) each, the company said. Student developers enrolling in the Microsoft DreamSpark development program will have their annual registration fee waived.

Developers will determine the cost, if any, of these applications to users, and will receive 70 percent of the revenue generated on their applications from the Marketplace.

“With the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile and our great development tools, Windows phones represent an incredible opportunity for developers everywhere,” said Andy Lees, senior vice president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft, in a prepared statement.

Microsoft will continue to test and certify all applications developed for Windows Mobile before they go to market, and developers will be able to view feedback during and after the certification process on the Windows Marketplace for Mobile developer portal. Developers can use any number of programming languages to develop their applications, including Win32, Active Template Library and Microsoft Foundation Classes (Visual C++), Visual C#, Visual Basic .NET, ASP.NET and asynchronous JavaScript and XML, according to Microsoft.

Registration of applications for the Windows Marketplace for Mobile will be open later this spring, although Microsoft has not released an exact date. The applications can be submitted later this summer.

The Marketplace is expected to be open for business with the next iteration of Windows Mobile, which Microsoft is now calling simply Windows Phone. The release date for Windows Phone has not been released.