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Windows Phone 7 SDK Hits 300000 Downloads

by Jerry1973 on September 1, 2010

Microsoft will enter the smartphone market within the next several weeks with the release of Windows Phone 7. The company claims that the beta development tools released last month have already been downloaded 300,000 times by developers. This is good news for the company’s mobile operating system and compatible smartphones.

The final version of the Windows Phone 7 software development kit is scheduled for release on September 16. The smartphones running on this operating system will have access to a wide array of great applications starting at device launch. According to Microsoft spokesperson Brandon Watson, “Just about every conversation we have with developers focuses on their strategy for generating more business with Windows Phone 7.”

A hard launch date for Windows Phone 7 devices has not been established, but Microsoft claims that these phones will be out before the holiday season. Kelley Blue Book, Esurance, Realtor.com, eBay, and the Associated Press are just a few of the companies expected to have apps compatible with Windows Phone 7. These and other big names will be required to divert consumers from purchasing competitor smartphones like the Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry.

Windows Mobile controls just 15 percent of the mobile operating system market. It faces a lot of competition, especially when it comes to the iPhone. The popular Apple mobile broadband device put mobile apps on the map. As of last September, Apple reported over two billion downloads of iPhone apps.

Microsoft abandoned some of its other projects so it could focus on Windows Phone 7. The Windows Mobile 6.x feature phones and supported applications were two casualties. Microsoft said these phones would not be compatible with Windows Phone 7. Another project, never formally announced but subsequently officially discarded, was the Courier tablet PC mobile internet device. The company’s Kin mobile phone was sold for only a few weeks and then discontinued due to poor sales volumes.