Skymarket – Windows Mobile app store coming “this fall”
Long Zheng from the istartedsomething blog has been reading the tea leaves (or rather the Microsoft’s job postings) and have uncovered a plan to launch a Windows Mobile application store seemingly modeled after the Apply Appstore, with Microsoft acting as an aggregator and middle man, collecting fees from consumers and disbursing it to developers. The app store is meant for Windows Mobile 7, and the software is now very close to launch.
The two relevant job postings are:
Job Title: Senior Product Manager – Skymarket
This is a unique opportunity and time of rapid change in the mobile industry for a Senior Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile.Key Responsibilities include the following:
- Definition of the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace “the place to be” for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications
- Responsibility for the business model and key elements that will drive the optimal experience for developers and monetization of the service by Microsoft
- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the initial launch of the marketplace offering to the developer community this fall
- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration with stakeholders in the commercial launch of the marketplace service with the launch of WM 7
- Define and mange the consumer, developer and mobile operator value proposition and supporting materials for use by PR, MCB’s developer outreach organization, and other teams across Microsoft
- Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, business operations, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
- Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, and mobile operator scenarios
- Support business development on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions
- Work closely with the Mobile Communication Business developer outreach organization
- Management of KPI’s for the service post launch
Product Manager – Commercial Integration
This is a unique opportunity for a Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration for the v1 launch of an applications marketplace service for Windows Mobile 7.
Key Responsibilities include the following:
- Drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration that will enable the Skymarket service and enable revenue collection from consumers of the service and payments to 3rd party developers selling applications/content through the marketplace
- Drive the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
- Benchmarking 3rd party mobile marketplaces for commercial integration options for consumers and developers, generating a set of best practices as input for the app market planner
- Working closely with product teams and potentially 3rd parties on mobile operator commercial integration
- Define the processes and KPI’s for measurement of the performance of the business
- Define processes for the on-going operation of the business including unds collection, payment, reporting requirements
- Oversight of 3rd party developer payments, tax issues, and funds management
- Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, mobile operator integration, and internal commerce integration scenarios
- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
- Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
- Support business development on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions
Read more on Istartedsomething.com for a lively discussion of this latest development, including the little titbit that Sidekick has an app store years before the iPhone was even imagined, and of course MS now owns Danger.
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[...] the lead from Mr Zheng from istartedsomething.com, I have taken a good look around Microsoft’s job postings, and have revealed a whole raft of [...]
Skymarket: A “App Store” do Windows Mobile…
O site istartedsomething dá conta hoje dos planos da Microsoft para lançar o Skymarket, um mercado de aplicações…
The only potential problem I see for this in the USA is that carriers routinly have features removed from phones before they make their way to the consumer and this is a service that could potentially compete with the (weak) software options that carriers offer. Do you think it is likly that a carrier would have an integrated store removed from the phone? Or would they sacrifice revenue and let the store be preinstalled?
There would have to be a revenue sharing plan to motivate the carriers to leave the service installed.
[Reply]
Unfortunately the adverts talk about a close cooperation with carriers, so its likely the carriers will have significant influence as to what shows up in the store, and that there will be different stores for different carriers.
Of course with Windows Mobile, unlike the iPhone for example, the store will just be one source of apps, versus the ONLY source, so such an issue will be small, rather that the disaster it was on the iPhone when NetShare disappeared.
[Reply]
[...] to WMPowerUser and IStartedSometing.com there may be a Windows Mobile store coming to WM7 devices. If you are [...]
[...] von Microsoft ver?ffentlich werden. Was sich hinter diesen verbirgt ist jedoch unbekannt. Mehr Infos. [...]
[...] blog Windows Mobile Power User reads more into the ad. “Taking the lead from Mr Zheng from istartedsomething.com, I have taken a good look around Microsoft’s job postings, and have revealed a whole raft of [...]
[...] app store is apparently called Skymarket, and has been revealed by way of a job advert for a Senior Product Manager: Job Title: Senior Product Manager – Skymarket This is a unique [...]
[...] Tjänsten heter Skymarket - eller kommer antagligen att heta, rättare sagt – och dyker troligen upp i skarp version ungefär samtidigt som Windows Mobile 7 gör det. Hur vet vi detta? Källa] [...]
[...] blog Windows Mobile Power User reads more into the ad. “Taking the lead from Mr Zheng from istartedsomething.com, I have taken a good look around Microsoft’s job postings, and have revealed a whole raft of [...]
I’m wondering when a ‘cross platform mobile’ application market will be launched?
Obviously there are more windows mobile applications than any other mobile platform out there just seems strange nothing competing with the iPhone app store has been launched.
Seems like an obvious choice with
http://windows.MobileAppStore.net
or
http://android.MobileAppStore.net
or
http://iphone.MobileAppStore.net etc etc.
Cheers,
Dean
[Reply]
If anyone can do it, it will be handango. They claim 140 000 apps accross all of todays major platforms ( minus the iPhone of course).
[Reply]