With its Windows Phone 7.5 (a.k.a. "Mango") operating system update now rolling out to consumers, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) issued the Release to Web version of its Windows Phone SDK 7.1, available for download here. According to Microsoft, the RTW release includes seven additional languages, final finishing touches to the tooling experience, a series of bug fixes and additional upgrade logic to enable a more seamless installation process for users coming from earlier tools. Developers downloaded pre-release versions of Windows Phone SDK 7.1 hundreds of thousands of times over the last few months, Microsoft states, adding that more than 70,000 unique developer devices have made the transition to Mango in the last three months.
Microsoft also unveiled an online version of its Windows Phone Marketplace application storefront. Marketplace on the Web allows users in 35 countries to browse for apps on a desktop or laptop and either download the solution over the air or send email instructions to install the app at a later point in time. The store also includes My Windows Phone, allowing users to remotely lock or wipe their devices in case of theft, and maintains each customer's download history, allowing for a smoother transition when upgrading handsets. "This new Marketplace creates more app marketing and promotion scenarios for you as well since you can link directly to your app within this comprehensive web shopping experience," writes Windows Phone Division senior director Todd Brix on the Windows Phone Developer Blog.
The arrival of Windows Phone 7.5 also heralds the international expansion of onboarding and payouts for the Microsoft Advertising solution, with support for 11 additional countries outside of the U.S.: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the U.K. Brix adds Microsoft is working to bring Windows Phone Marketplace and the App Hub developer resource site to additional global markets.
For more:
- read this Windows Phone Developer Blog entry
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