As Microsoft works towards gaining a significant presence in the mobile space once again one of the chief areas it has to concentrate on is apps and the developers behind those apps. For the most part its an area Microsoft has received positive nods for given how much attention they've paid to it as part of their overall stratgey.
However, recent comments from some of the devs working on apps for Windows Phone 7 paint a picture, in which Microsoft is not trying quite so hard once the devs have been brought onboard. Nicholas Yu, the dev behind Google Voice client, GoVoice, alleges in a blog post that not only has he not been paid by Microsoft yet, but that he has no idea when he will be paid by them.
That would be bad enough in and of itself, but Yu makes the point that he has been receiving requests from users of his app to include push notification support. That extra functionality would require a push server, which costs money, which he hasn't yet been paid and thus the extra functionality can't come. So not only is Microsoft not paying him his due income, they are actually retarding the growth of apps on their own platform in the process.
Its a story borne out by another dev, Justin james, who also says he has not been paid by Microsoft yet. However, James makes the worrying claim that in speaking with Microsoft he was informed that developers can expect to see payouts no sooner than February of next year.
A tweet from Rovio Mobile suggests the Windows Phone version of Angry Birds will not be available until 2011. Earlier this week, Rovio hinted that it would provide information on the progress of its Windows Phone version as part of Angry Birds Day, a worldwide, fan-sponsored event slated for December 11th. Excitement was high and most fans assumed Rovio would announce the impending launch of its Windows Phone version.
Windows Phone users eager to play Angry Birds will be disappointed to find out they may have to wait until 2011 to start flinging their favorite feathered creatures at a herd of pigs. Rovio tweeted that it is highly unlikely the game will launch in 2010.
Many will be watching Microsoft new Windows Phone platform closely to see how it fares now that it is out of the starting blocks. One of the most closely observed areas of the new OS will of course be its apps situation. More and more the number of apps and the number of developers a platform has is being used as a measure of how successful it has become.
Microsoft are saying that they have so far managed to attract some 15,000 devs to their platform, a far cry from the more established players to be sure, but still impressive given how fresh the platform still is. With the Windows Marketplace expected to pass the 3,000 app mark this week those 15,000 devs are at least a signal that the Marketplace should move well past the low thousands.
Microsoft has poured a lot of money into and lavished a lot of attention on their app market, with reports suggesting that they paid some devs up to $100,000 to bring their apps to Windows Phone. Clearly Microsoft recognises just how important the app has become to today smartphone.
Rovio, the chaps behind uber popular time filler Angry Birds, have been dropping hints via Twitter that the game may soon be winding its way to Windows Phone 7.
The company tweeted that there would be an announcement made on Angry Birds Day, 11th December. it was said, might provide an update on what's happening with the game in terms of Microsoft's new platform.
The two companies have not had the smoothest of relationships before now, with Microsoft making a gaffe in publicising Angry Birds on the Windows Phone website without Rovio knowing about it. That resulted in Rovio tweeting that they had no definite commitment to producing a Windows Phone version of the game. Hopefully that has now changed.
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