Microsoft planning emergence of App Store rival?

by Stevie Smith - Sep 2 2008, 13:00

Following the emergent popularity associated with Apple’s online App Store, which provides exclusive applications for both the iPhone and iPod Touch devices, American software beast Microsoft Corp. is reportedly planning to open a software-based store all of its own to serve the Windows Mobile operating system.

Presently known under the working title of “Skymarket,” the first whispers of Microsoft’s online store arrived this week after the Redmond-based company posted an online job listing looking to attain the services of a Senior Product Manager to oversee an unnamed marketplace service for Windows Mobile.

The job listing in question has since mysteriously expired, but Apple fan site Apple Insider claims that its description suggested that Skymarket will be ready for launch alongside Windows Mobile 7, which is scheduled for release in the latter half of 2009.

According to a listing sample apparently lifted from the job ad, Microsoft requires an applicant who can provide “definition of the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace ‘the place to be’ for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications.”

Microsoft is also looking to secure someone prepared to shoulder “responsibility for the business model and key elements that will drive the optimal experience for developers and monetization of the service by Microsoft.”

The possible appearance of a Microsoft-branded software store follows similar announcements of intent made by the likes of T-Mobile and Google, both of which have indicated the desire to create dedicated stores that will serve customers by delivering software distribution through both specific handsets (T-Mobile) and operating systems (Google Android).

Of course, the success of Apple’s iPhone and its accompanying App Store is likely to be a core factor in Microsoft’s movement. According to Cupertino-based Apple, its App Store amassed some 60 million downloads and revenue of $30 million USD in its first month of business.

Apple Insider also notes that a lack of moneymaking prowess in Microsoft’s consumer products division has led to certain investors calling for the software company to separate its Windows Mobile business in an effort to mirror the performance of other freestanding Microsoft-owned media distribution services such as Xbox Live Marketplace (games and movies) and the Zune Marketplace (music and TV).

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