Windows Phone Searches for Dial Tone

The company's big, bold Windows Marketplace announcements at CTIA aren't. That said, considering for how long Windows Mobile has languished as a platform or how far Microsoft has fallen behind upstarts Apple and Google, and established providers Nokia and Research In Motion, the announcements are seemingly huge leaps forward.

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Quick recap:

• Developer content partners: AccuWeather.com, Associated Press, CNBC, Developer One, EA Mobile, Facebook, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Handmark, Ilium Software, Jeyo, Kinoma, LiteScape, Magmic Games, Melodis, MySpace, Namco Networks, Netflix, Pandora, PhatWare, Resco, ShoZu, Sling Media, SBSH Mobile, Spb Software, Web Information Solutions and Zagat Survey.
• Windows Marketplace purchases can be done by credit or as charges added to the phone bill.
• Carriers can offer separate applications and services through their own branded stores within the Windows Marketplace.
• Store refunds are 24 hours.
• Microsoft will make available designer themes for Windows phones.
• Facebook and MySpace applications are coming soon.
• Windows Live for Mobile will extend further; 25 languages, new mail beta.
• Developers will pay for submissions, not updates.

Partners. Apple builds the App Store and developers just come to it. Microsoft has to make a big, splashy announcement showing that any developer is even interested. Most of these partners either already develop something for Windows Mobile, or they develop applications for iPhone. It's not that exciting a list.

Microsoft loves to parade partners when it's running behind someone else. Pick an area. Web browsers in 1996; search in 2003, 2004 and 2005; cell phones in 2009; and many more. The announcements magnify something modest into something seemingly bigger. Partners benefit, too, particularly smaller companies riding Microsoft's marketing coattails. Their inclusion in one Microsoft press release can be worth millions in free marketing or investments, if they're a startup seeking funds.

Marketplace purchases. Who is handling them? Microsoft, carriers or both? It's to be expected Microsoft will use its existing billing system tied to Windows Live IDs for Windows Marketplace purchases. Fine. It's carrier billing that is a bigger concern, for consumer buyers and developers looking to get paid for their apps. Fragmented billing is the Titanic searching for an iceberg.

What happens when Junior rakes up the phone bill by hundreds of dollars, not for texting overages but for purchased applications? Perhaps Microsoft will require a credit card on file even for phone bill charges.

Branded Marketplaces. The approach will be good for getting carrier support—after all, carriers have been looking to cash in on their data streams for years. But these branded Windows Marketplaces likely will cause further platform fragmentation that will make operating system updates—and developer support—even more dicey than today.

There's no kind way of saying this: Carriers can't be trusted with their customers. There are reasons why in Europe and the United States, carriers lock customers into long-term contracts. Churn. There would be less of it if customers were satisfied with the services or devices.

Refunds. I got a good chuckle over the 24-hour refund policy. Last week, there was a ruckus about Apple offering 30 days and what that could mean for developer revenues. Microsoft slaps around Apple with the announcement, which is fun. Microsoft is being generous enough with 24 hours. Software is typically a nonrefundable purchase.

Designer themes. Please slap my back so I can stop laughing. Designer themes? How about Microsoft offer a designer user interface, something with better usability?

Facebook and MySpace. Here's a strange question: Why did Microsoft create the Facebook application and not Facebook? You tell me. Perhaps Microsoft developers think they can offer more, or perhaps Facebook doesn't have enough interest. Either way, Windows Mobile is a latecomer to both Facebook and MySpace. April for the one and summer for the other is too long.

Windows Live. Microsoft is releasing Windows Live for Mobile in 25 languages, which sounds new to me. But you never know with these press releases. A new beta version of Windows Live Hotmail is available, too. These are important advances that come up short. There needs to be universal sync, which isn't yet ready.

Developer fees. Microsoft backed off a plan, or perhaps licensing terms oversight, that would have had developers paying $99 for every update, not just an original application submission. Update submissions are now free.

That said, Microsoft has a big developer problem, which the branded carrier stores can exacerbate: fragmentation. Apple doesn't have this problem because it controls iPhone OS distribution, so that there is one version available for all devices. Like I wrote a few paragraphs ago, carriers can't be trusted. For Windows Mobile, there are multiple OS versions on many devices from lots of different carriers. There is no consistency of updating, and so no stable platform for software development.

I would hope that Microsoft would learn something from Nokia, which store will offer up applications specific to the Symbian version running on the phone. It's not nearly as good an approach as Apple's, but perhaps good enough.

[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at gmail.com.]

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