Microsoft introduced Mobile App Match, a new website designed to connect mobile software developers with the consumer segment. "We're bringing the people who build Windows Phone apps together with the people who seek them for personal use--to start conversations, exchange ideas, and see what develops," the site explains. "Your activity will help guide starter ideas from first blush to finished products available on Windows Marketplace." Not an application storefront, Mobile App Match instead offers a clearinghouse for developers to submit app prototypes or videos for user feedback--consumers can comment and vote on applications, suggest their own ideas or start conversations about the Windows Phone ecosystem. Mobile App Match also features Windows Phone news and blog posts as well as developer tools and tips.
Microsoft is slated to introduce its revamped Windows Phone 7 operating system later this year. In mid-July, the software giant released a "technical preview" accompanied by promises WP7 is "now ready for the hands-on everyday use of a broad set of consumers around the world." Writing on the Windows Phone Blog, Windows Phone Engineering corporate vice president Terry Myerson reports the OS is not yet finished, but Microsoft is now soliciting feedback from developers, consumers, operators and OEMs alike. The technical preview follows months of daily testing by more than 1,000 Microsoft staffers, with WP7 now trialed across more than 10,000 devices--the tests have focused on usability, battery life, network connectivity and related issues, Myerson notes. Microsoft is now shipping prototype WP7 devices from Asus, LG and Samsung to developer partners as well.
For more on Mobile App Match:
- check out the website
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