Windows Phone Development

Despite being one of the longest running players in the smartphone world, Microsoft has only recently been thought of as a competitor to the likes of iOS and Android. This follows their decision tor finally scrap Windows Mobile 6 in exchange for a completely rewritten and redesigned operating system called Windows Phone (officially unveiled and released in 2010). Setting a minimum requirement for device manufacturers, and with Microsoft’s reputation, the quality of the end product is very high with great praise from conception from many critics.

Still very much in its infancy Microsoft currently has only 5.4% of the smartphone market compared with the 46.3% and 28.1% held by Android and Apple respectively. However this is very much a market that Microsoft wants cut of and is pushing up its marketing and developer incentives. To date there is an estimated 30,000 apps already available to download.

With its roots still based in Microsoft’s solid .net framework, and with Nokia recently signing up for the product, the platform has a great amount of potential, however only time will tell if it will be successful. As Presten Gralla of COMPUTERWORLD.com writes, “If Microsoft software and services are the center of your world, Windows Phone 7 is an excellent choice.”