Microsoft: Final Development Toolset For Windows Phone OS
Word of the release of the tools came in a blog posted by Brandon Watson, director for Windows Phone 7.
Developers will have to download the final version of the tools, Watson said, because any app built with earlier versions will fail certification for the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. When developers submit their application for the marketplace, they can expect it to take about five days to pass or fail certification.
Microsoft released the Windows Phone 7 operating system to manufacturing just two weeks ago, making it available for mobile device manufacturers to build into their products. Microsoft has said a number of manufacturers, including Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung, have committed to using Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft is playing catch-up in the mobile operating system arena where Windows Mobile, the current version of the vendor's mobile operating system, lags behind leaders Symbian and Research In Motion, and even more recent entrants Android and Apple's iPhone OS.
In the second quarter of this year Windows Mobile held only a 5 percent share of the worldwide smartphone operating system market, according to market-research firm Gartner, down from 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
Efforts to build support for Windows Mobile 7 also include creation of an online showroom called Mobile App Match to spur development of third-party applications for the mobile operating system, and supporting the development of video games that will run with Windows Phone 7.