Microsoft paying developers to build apps for Windows Phone 7

Microsoft confirmed reports it is offering financial incentives to mobile software developers to stir interest in new applications for its forthcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system. Microsoft's senior director of mobile services and developer product management Todd Brix tells Bloomberg the software giant is providing everything from free tools and trial handsets to software development funding, even offering revenue guarantees in the event apps fail to sell as expected. Brix declined to state how much Microsoft will spend to woo developers to WP7, but said it is a larger sum than the company invested in previous compensation programs. "We are investing a lot to attract developers big and small to Windows Phone 7 to let them understand what the opportunity is and provide as many resources as we can to help them be successful on our platform," Brix said. "We're open for business and we want to work with them."

Citing sources approached by Microsoft, PocketGamer.biz reported in mid-June that the firm is promising "substantial" upfront cash payments to select game developers who translate their iPhone titles to Windows Phone 7 prior to the operating system's commercial launch later this year. Complicating Microsoft's efforts: The substantial costs associated with reworking iPhone applications written in C++ to Silverlight or XNA, the two frameworks underpinning the Windows Phone platform.

Market research firm comScore reported last week that Microsoft's current Windows Mobile platform accounts for 13.2 percent of U.S. smartphone market share, down 1.9 percent from the previous three-month period. Although Research In Motion's BlackBerry operating system remains the dominant smartphone platform in the U.S., representing 41.7 percent of the market, its market share dropped 0.4 percent during the period as Google's Android increased 4.0 percent to 13.0 percent. Android was the sole platform to grow its market share during the period: Apple's iPhone slipped 1.0 percent to 24.4 percent, and Palm's webOS fell 0.6 percent to 4.8 percent.

Speaking Monday at Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington D.C., CEO Steve Ballmer admitted the software giant's current Windows Mobile platform lost a "whole generation of users" to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, but promised Windows Phone 7 will right the ship. Ballmer said the company will aggressively promote Windows Phone 7 across smartphones as well as tablets, with partners including Dell, Sony, Asus and Samsung committed to releasing WM7-powered products in "the next few months."

For more on Microsoft's WP7 developer incentives:
- read this Bloomberg article

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