Microsoft is slowly revealing more details on the app distribution service which will roll out to the Windows Mobile platform this year. Just like the Android Market and the iPhone App Store, Microsoft will be keeping a good percentage of the proceeds for themselves. Microsoft’s revenue approach is a bit more similar to Apple’s since they plan on keeping 30% of the revenue generated by the service. For $99, developers will be able to submit up to five applications to the service, but unlike the Android Market, Microsoft is planning an app certification program in order to test each submission before they go live on the market. This could have positive and negative effects, just like Apple’s approach. The high cost of entry into the market and a strict review process will definitely weed out a lot of applications that have no business in the marketplace. All we can really do now is sit back and watch to see which business model will come out on top.
