To Microsoft, the thousands of would-be app creators who have downloaded the beta version of its Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools send a strong message: The pieces are falling into place for the company’s re-entry into the mobile market.
While the mobile OS market is currently dominated by the likes of the BlackBerry, Apple’s iPhone, Google-backed Android and and Symbian devices, Microsoft has its own aspirations in Windows Phone 7 following years of waning share with the older Windows Mobile OS.
And those aspirations are looking even more likely to come to fruition now that it’s recorded 300,000 downloads of the Windows Phone 7 SDK. That would seem to signal plenty of interest in developing on the platform, and, if all goes well, presages plenty of apps available on launch day. CodeGuru takes a look.
The official launch of Windows Phone 7 is only a month or two away, and Microsoft is eager to demonstrate that its entry into the smartphone market already has momentum.
As Exhibit A, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) said on Monday that developers have downloaded the beta development tools that it debuted last month some 300,000 times.