Windows Mobile Phones are slackng in performance and sales behind RIM's BlackBerry line and the dominant Google Android powered devices - but Microsoft isn't one to give up. The newest in the Windows Mobile phones line is the 'Windows Phone 7' which is anticipated later this month.Windows Phone 7 DetailsWindows Phone 7 is the successor of the Windows Mobile 6.5 mobile operating system in development by Microsoft, scheduled for release by October 2010. Microsoft's goal is to create a compelling and predictable user experience by redesigning the user interface, disabling third party UI modifications, integrating the operating system with other services, and strictly controlling the hardware it runs on. Microsoft officially unveiled Windows Phone 7 during Mobile World Congress 2010 (February 15) in Barcelona and revealed additional details at MIX 2010. Microsoft released a technical preview version of Windows Phone 7 on 18 July 2010. Windows Phone 7 went RTM on September 1, 2010. Guidelines for Apps UpdatedU.S. software giant Microsoft has updated its guidelines for developers who want to post applications for the Windows Phone 7. Similar to Apple, Microsoft has an "app store," where programmers can offer game or business software -- called applications -- to mobile phones users.Microsoft's new guidelines include a $99 per year fee, which allows programmers to submit five applications. After that, there is a $19.99 fee per application, Director of Development Experience for Windows Phone 7 Brandon Watson wrote in a blog.The new guidelines allow program developers to either profit from their "apps" in a variety of ways, including selling the apps outright, connecting with advertisers for funding or selling through a "freemium" system in which the app is free, but additional features cost money.The revenue-sharing guidelines are the same as Apple uses -- a 70/30 share with Microsoft taking 30 percent of the sales revenue."We're keeping the basic tenets of our existing Marketplace philosophy and making a few enhancements for developers," Watson wrote.The full set of guidelines is available online at http://developer.windowsphone.com/Default.aspx.
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