Microsoft Phones Home
With the Kin gone, the stakes for Windows Phone 7 are higher than ever. This week, Microsoft is taking 'dogfooding' to a whole new level.
Microsoft's Senior Vice President of the Mobile Communications Business, Andy Lees announced on Wednesday that the company is giving Windows Phone 7 devices to its roughly 90,000 employees, who are invited to write WP7 applications in their free time as part of an employee developer program. Employees will get the devices, when they are launched in their respective markets. The first devices are expected in the United States, before the end of the year.
Who da' Punk, the alleged Microsoft employee who anonymously writes the Mini-Microsoft blog is excited about the opportunity:
"In a move that has totally delighted me, Microsoft is giving every employee the ability to write and deploy WP7 applications (and, what, ability to get a device at launch, too?) - wow! Now's the time to truly show off your stuff and write for WP7 and get your app out the door."
Reports have surfaced that Microsoft is also subsidizing third-party mobile developers to create apps or port their existing apps to Windows Phone 7. The company took a similar approach when the Xbox was launched.
Among the companies that have announced plans to build WP7 apps: Associated Press, EA, Foursquare, Namco, Netflix, Pageonce, Pandora, Shazam and Sling.
Microsoft released the beta of the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools on Monday and select, third-party developers are expected to get prototype devices from Asus, LG and Samsung, starting this week.
Brandon Watson, director of Windows Phone 7, explained what's new in the beta and anticipated a shortage of prototype phones, which are limited in quantity, in the Windows Phone Developer blog on July 12:
"Sadly, we will not be able to meet all of that demand. We are planning to set up deploy and test labs in major cities to make it a little easier for everyone who wants to have access to a preview phone to have it. More on that soon."
Visit the Windows Phone Developer blog to learn more about how to sign up and get in the queue to receive a WP7 prototype device.
Is mobile development on your radar? Express your thoughts on the different platforms and your experiences with Windows Phone 7 development. Are you optimistic about the platform, tools and the potential market? Drop me a line krichards@1105media.com.
Posted by Kathleen Richards on 07/22/2010 at 2:21 PM