Windows Mobile Marketplace photos leaked, rules released

There's a bit more information coming out about Microsoft's answer to the iPhone App Store. A member of the PPC Geeks forums somehow managed to get a brief glimpse of the Windows Mobile Marketplace on his phone running a hacked version of Windows Mobile 6.5. His access appears to have been revoked, but he managed to get a few screengrabs before he was booted.

And Microsoft has published a list of restrictions for Windows Mobile developers looking to make their apps available in the Marketplace. You can download a PDF file with all the details, but here are a few of the things that will get your app booted from the Windows Mobile Marketplace:

• Apps that enable VoIP over mobile operator networks
• Apps that sell, link to, or promote mobile voice plans
• Apps that distribute alternate marketplaces for content types distributed through the Windows Marketplace
• Apps with over the air download sizes of more than 10MB
• Apps that run code outside of Microsoft runtimes
• Apps that change the default browser, search client, or media player

Overall, the rules seem pretty restrictive, and designed to give Microsoft and mobile carriers a lot of control over Window Mobile devices. Fortunately, you don't need to jailbreak a Windows Mobile device in order to run apps that aren't available from the Windows Mobile Marketplace. So if you can't find what you're looking for in the Marketplace, odds are you'll be able to find it somewhere else.
[via WMExperts]

Tags: osupdates, windows-marketplace, windows-marketplace-for-mobile, windows-mobile, windows-mobile-marketplace