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Apps! Getcher apps! Microsoft has unveiled guidelines for applications submitted to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace — and they’re very similar to Apple’s dictums.
Microsoft teased details to developers earlier this year, and this week has fleshed out some of the details of how apps will work. The guidelines for app makers prohibit sexually suggestive content, so no porn on WinPhev. Violence is also a no-no, with blood splatter, spurting and pooling banned. Chat apps have to verify users are older than 13, and over-the-air downloads have to be smaller than 20MB.
Developers pay $99 (£70) to offer up to five free apps and as many paid apps as they like in the Marketplace. That’s the same pricing as Apple’s App Store, and with the same split of revenue: 70 per cent trousered by the developer, and 30 per cent going to Microsoft. After the first five free apps, developers will have to bung Microsoft $20 (£14) for each extra free app.
There probably won’t be the same emphasis on free apps as on Apple’s App Store, as Marketplace offers more flexible options. This includes free trial periods for apps.
