The only official way to get apps on a Windows Phone 7 Series device will be to download them from the just-detailed Windows Phone Marketplace. That means developers will have to abide by Microsoft's technical and content guidelines in order to make it in, with the very real possibility of rejection -- sound familiar? Apple?

Enterprise customers will be able to deploy apps to employees outside the consumer-facing Marketplace -- details on that will be released in the future.


*Windows Phone Marketplace appears to take some of the best parts of the App Store and the Android Market and throw them together into a hodgepodge, but they've strayed a bit with the trial period system -- with the Marketplace, it's up to the developer to decide how the trial works. There are API hooks to let the developer manage the whole process, actually -- to quote Biggs, a game dev could end the trial after you've killed 50 trolls, for example. There's no additional download after the trial expires; the game just unlocks if you choose to buy it.

Marketplace membership for developers still costs $99 a year, though Biggs says they're looking at tweaking the 5-app limit per account present in 6.5 -- whether that means they'll remove the limit altogether, though, we don't yet know.

There are no fees for developers to update their apps, nor fees for users to download them.

Speaking of user downloads, you'll be able to uninstall purchased apps and redownload them at a later time at your leisure -- the purchases are tied to your Live account, not your phone, so you can move between devices at will. That's a Microsoft policy that developers won't be able to override.

If a dev wants to post a free, ad-supported app, they've only got two hurdles: the $99 fee and -- of course -- approval by Microsoft. For ad-supported apps specifically, the company will have some guidelines specifically targeted at making sure the ads are appropriate and germane.

Microsoft's only dealing in real money here -- no points (though there's still an opportunity for direct carrier billing).

Though there's some development synergy between Zune and WP7S at this point (with XNA, specifically), there's no ecosystem synergy beyond that -- different marketplaces for the developers to submit to and manage.

You'll be able to browse and buy apps and games through the Zune desktop client on your PC.

Though there's no way for end users to purchase and install apps outside of the Marketplace, Microsoft is naturally working on a solution for trialling apps on a limited number of devices; if we had to guess, it'll be something akin to Apple's ad hoc installation mode, but Charlie Kindel has said that it won't be available in the first release of the platform. For now, the only way to do it is to unlock devices one at a time through the developer portal, and Microsoft isn't talking about how many devices you'll be able to unlock on an account right now.

via Engadget

More details about Windows Phone 7 shared by Microsoft reveal that the new operating system will not support user-replaceable memory cards. Charlie Kindel, who is in charge of Microsoft's Windows Phone developer strategy, said that the company will work with phone makers to ensure that Windows Phone 7 handsets pack enough memory for applications, 3D games, and media storage. Kindel suggested that some phones may have microSD cards embedded in them, but they will be locked in place and inaccessible by end users. Microsoft also noted that, like the iPhone, Windows Phone 7 won't permit true multitasking. Third-party applications won't be able to run in the background, and those using VoIP will be limited. "Apps that run arbitrarily in the background create an end user experience where battery life and responsiveness of the system becomes … inconsistent," Kindel said. "We focused on getting a set of experiences right where we didn't have to support [multitasking,] but we will over time."

PCMag

via Phonescoop

Opera Software announced new full 1.0 versions of Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10. Opera Mini 5 is available as a 1.0 release for Java-based devices, such as BlackBerries (it remains in beta for Android and WinMo). Opera Mobile 10 is available for the S60 and Windows Mobile platforms. No new features were added to these full releases when compared to the beta versions, but they should be more stable. The browsers are all available for free download starting today.

more at Opera

After generating disappointing results in our tests last spring, AT&T’s 3G network is now the top performer in our 13-city tests, with download speeds 67 percent faster than its competitors'.
Mark Sullivan, PCWorld

AT&T says it has worked hard to improve its much-maligned 3G network over the last eight months--erecting hundreds of new cell towers, using better-performing wireless spectrum, and souping up its cell sites across the country--and the results of our latest 13-city 3G network performance tests suggest that the network has indeed undergone a drastic makeover.

After registering the lowest average download speeds in our 3G performance tests last spring, AT&T’s network turned in download speeds that were 72 percent better than the numbers from eight months ago; in our latest tests, AT&T's download speeds were 67 percent faster on average than those of the other three largest U.S. wireless providers--Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

In our tests last spring, AT&T posted an average download speed of 812 kbps (kilobits per second) across 13 cities. In our tests conducted in December 2009 and January 2010, AT&T’s average download speed increased to 1410 kbps.

AT&T's download speeds in New York City were three times faster in our latest tests than in our tests last spring; in San Francisco, the AT&T's download speeds were 40 percent faster.

The AT&T network’s reliability improved dramatically, too: Last spring, PCWorld testers obtained a usable broadband connection with AT&T only 68 percent of the time. In our latest tests, testers connected to AT&T successfully in 94 percent of their attempts.



Verizon Wireless, which turned in the best all-around performance in last spring's 3G network testing, and Sprint, which finished a close second, both continue to perform well, according to our latest test results. Our tests found that Sprint’s network delivered download speeds nearly identical to those we measured eight months ago in the 13 test cities; Verizon’s download speeds decreased by 8 percent overall.

In the past year, Sprint and Verizon--like AT&T--have seen a marked increase in the number of 3G smartphones that rely on their networks. Our speed results suggest that Sprint is upgrading its network capacity fast enough to meet the demand, while Verizon may be having trouble keeping up. Nevertheless, both networks’ reliability (the likelihood that a user can connect to the Internet at a reasonable speed) improved in the most recent tests over how they fared last spring.

Via PCWorld

Windows Mobile users looking to download Skype may have to dig a bit deeper to find the necessary .cab file for installation. According to Skype’s website, the Windows Mobile version has been removed because it does not offer the same rich user experience that is available in Skype for the iPhone and Skype for Symbian, an unusual reason that leaves us scratching our heads. Skype does not indicate when the Windows Mobile version will return, if ever, and it is possible that Skype may have chosen to cease development of the older Windows Mobile version

via Pinstack

While some of this is not surprising the latest rumor from GizmoFusion shows that Verizon is moving 4 BlackBerry models to End Of Life status. This includes the BlackBerry Storm 9530 (Original Storm), BlackBerry Curve 8330, BlackBerry 8830, and the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230. I am still kind of shocked that Verizon is killing off the 8330 which is the most popular smartphone out today even though it has been replaced by the 8530.

Comments made by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson during a recent investor conference indicate that metered data pricing is likely in the firm's future. Stephenson didn't say exactly how data pricing would be altered, nor when any change would take place, but he did say that the company will charge heavy users of its mobile data network more than those who use it infrequently. Stephenson also said that Apple's iPhone will be a key product for AT&T for "quite some time," which calls to question just how long the exclusive distribution agreement will last between Apple and AT&T. Stephenson reiterated that the company is taking measures to shore up its existing 3G network and believes HSPA will serve for several more years. "We're not in a tremendous hurry on LTE," Stephenson said. Competitor Verizon Wireless plans to trial two LTE markets late this year, with preliminary launches taking place in 2011.

more at MarketWatch