The guy in the photo quit to go to work for Vodaphone

Following in the footsteps of US mobile provider T-Mobile and Google’s own Android smartphone platform, Microsoft is now plotting its own effort to create an online store for mobile software in the model of Apple’s iPhone App Store.

The project, tentatively called “Skymarket,” was revealed in a job listing Microsoft posted at computerjobs.com for a Senior Product Manager to oversee a marketplace service for Windows Mobile.

According to the job listing, Microsoft doesn’t plan to commercially launch Skymarket until the release of Windows Mobile 7, slated for late 2009. However, the company does hope to find someone who can handle “driving the cross group collaboration for the initial launch of the marketplace offering to the developer community this fall.”

The posting also indicates Microsoft hasn’t made much progress so far about its conceptual goals for the store. It calls for an applicant who can assume responsibilities for “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.”

Whoop-de-doo! The App Store concept finally has proven itself. Microsoft is going to copy it.




  1. Mister Ketchup says:

    Baldmer is always the innovator!

  2. Jägermeister says:

    Ballmer: Me too, me too…

  3. Jägermeister says:

    Ballmer on iPhone.

  4. JimD says:

    M$ – Clueless, as usual !!!

  5. Don says:

    But they will do it better than Apple….. No, I can’t do this with a straight face. 😉

    Don

  6. JimR says:

    #5, don’t worry Don, Pedro will do it with a straight face.

  7. Judge Jewdy says:

    What, no Zune apps?

  8. Jägermeister says:

    #5 – Don

    LOL

  9. QB says:

    Wow, Innovation 2008.

    MS Mobile has good market share in the US but poor in Europe and Asia. I get a feeling that they are starting to slide in the US – no data, just a gut feel.

  10. ECA says:

    i mentioned something about this AWHILE back.
    MS wants to corner the market on Distribution of software for there OS.
    They already have it in the 360. You cant get software ON the machine without MS, knowing and selling it TO YOU.

  11. QB says:

    It’ll be nicknamed Skynet in no time.

  12. moss says:

    Actually, Skymarket is the name of a Web developer, ISP, etc. in the UK:

    http://www.skymarket.co.uk/

  13. Judge Jewdy says:

    Microsoft should tattoo a big L on top of that dumb bald head.

  14. OvenMaster says:

    They never populated the Zune store with music downloads, so why should they try this particular stunt? Losers.

  15. Todd Peterson says:

    Good to see the spreadsheets on the presentation – then you know it’s Microsoft!


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