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Microsoft Bans VoIP, Rival Stores At Mobile Market
narramissic writes "Microsoft has identified 12 application types that won't be accepted at the MarketPlace for Mobile store. Among them: VoIP apps, programs that are larger than 10MB, and programs that change the default browser on a device. Overly restrictive? Maybe. But perhaps the clear set of rules (PDF) will prevent confusion similar to what's been encountered over Apple's policy for approving or rejecting applications from the App Store."
I personally don't care, since you are not tied to this store to get applications for Windows Mobile. This is not Apple where you have to jailbreak the device to install software from anywhere.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
The no VoIP will have been imposed by phone companies who don't want their customers making cheap calls. These restrictions don't seem excessive to me, merely the result of enforcing software standards (from TFA) and the usual price fixing from mobile phone companies.
Anyway, can't you just install unofficial apps (not from the store) if you want to bypass these restrictions? Any sort of software protection preventing this will likely be broken in short order...
You can advertise in this sig from as little as £99.99 a month!
The top 2 things in the prohibited list are "Applications that link to, incent users to download, or otherwise promote alternate
marketplaces" and "Applications that are or distribute alternate marketplaces".
This doesn't fill me with confidence about the future of alternatives to Microsoft's store, surely they must be envious of Apple's 30% cut of 1 billion app sales.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
Sadly one of the banned apps is the only thing that would make me return to WM -- an alternate dialer. The default dialer app uses about 50% of the screen real-estate for the virtual buttons, pretty much necessitating the use of a stylus to dial. Apple uses almost 100% of the screen, making dialing with your finger on glass much more reliable. Of course, the BlackBerry uses actual buttons, so that's what I have.
Dude, I think I can see my house from here.
Ignore the sensationalist headline, Microsoft's VOIP policy is actually the same as Apple's. VOIP is prohibited when it's over the mobile carrier's network, but it's allowed if it's not going over the mobile network.
This means the an app that only connects over wifi, like Skype for the iPhone, would be fine.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
Could we maybe wait until such restrictions are actually, you know, announced, before bashing MS for them?
I am trolling
Anyone familiar with the PlaysForSure initiative should be extremely wary of purchasing anything for these devices without a way to guarantee that they'll work after Microsoft moves on to greener pastures.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
In their defense, this rule makes sense. In no company should one promote the activities of another rival company, this is natural. However it's another thing to Hitler things around, such as prohibiting VoIP. This is such a natural step in communication that it hurts to see that Microsoft kills innovation like this. I really admire the ignorance of those that support this store. This is no longer even about opinions, this is a plain fucking fact, do you want to pay your carrier for a service that you can get for free with another service you're already paying for? To me it's simple, get as far away from such a company as possible. They clearly have no interest in pleasing you, their interest lies in pleasing AT&T and Vodafone etc. That's where they get their income, by allowing other companies to fuck you over and then charge them for the service.
I am the lawn!
Windows® Marketplace for Mobile
Prohibited Application Types:
1. Applications that... etc
Basically 'You can't sell stuff in our store which directly competes with the stuff we sell in our store?'
That sounds like a perfectly reasonable policy for a store owner to have.
That only becomes a problem when you have a monopoly. In this case, Microsoft don't. They don't across Platforms because of Apple, Palm, Android, and they don't within their own platform, because you can go elsewhere for apps (unlike with Apple!)
No - a more accurate analogy would be Microsoft not allowing Firefox links on microsoft.com.
no?
You already purchased Windows, one way or another (unless you're a pirate - ARRR!!!!!), so you can put whatever the heck you want on there.
The Windows Marketplace is a -store-. You don't own it. Why exactly should they have to -sell- (or offer) another company's software - especially if it's competing software?
Don't like it? Go to Handango.com or pocketgear.com or any of dozens of other stores.
Microsoft isn't stopping anybody from installing competing 'market place'-type software; they just don't want to offer/sell it through their own market place. Sounds normal to me.
Man, who would have thought the once-cool MS would one day become as heavy-handed as Apple!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
In their offense, this ruling doesn't make sense.
Apple apps don't run on Windows phones; hell, most of their own apps barely run on their phones. My Windows 5 Treo 700w is miserable.
It's true that banning VoIP makes friends with the carriers. A good alt.store some place will deliver those apps soon. Then things are out of the carrier's gouging control again, and so much the better.
Competition is cool. The Amazons of the world can actually make money from rivals, easily and handily.
Open a store, make it a cool and safe place to go, and clean up. Microsoft keeps hardware vendors in business by getting their OS and apps to run in lots of places on lots of hardware. Their UI, good or bad as it might be, is at least understood. They have a chance to be egalitarian, but instead, copy the mistakes of their rivals, instead of breaking new ground. Oh, wait.... that's what they always do-- or at least that's the perception.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
Anyone with any understanding of DRM at all should be wary of any service that employs DRM that depends on a server (there is some distinction between server based schemes and something like DVD style protection, the latter being someone less likely to explode).
Of course, whether than means not using it at all or simply factoring it into the purchasing decision is going to be up to the individual. The short term payoff could well be significant enough that the DRM simply isn't relevant.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
That 1 billion is a misnomer.
Every time you download an update to an app, its considered a sale (and you get a $0 receipt for it).
I'm sure I've racked up hundreds of sales, but I've only bought maybe four programs.
Really?
1-3 make good business sense
4,5,7,9 are probably rules pushed by the provider
7,8,10 protect tech support
11,12 are to protect the consumer
6 is probably just a loophole to make sure they can get around any creative ideas that would have been intended to fall under 1-3 but might not be covered.
Of course if you are unhappy with these rules maybe you could return to the open and free policies of buying apps for your iPhone...
If it did I'd be impressed. Facial recognition, depth perception and accurate robot arm control on a handheld device would be a major technical achievement.
"Welcome to our world. We are the wasted youth. And we are the future too." Yes, I know these are stupid lyrics.
Who's to say the next IPhone won't stab users in the face with a fork?
And when it does, you can bet that it will be touted as an advantage :)
"It doesn't matter that other phones stabbed users in the face with a fork, Apple were the first ones to integrate the fork properly with your face".
And when the next version after that removes the fork-stabbing, there'll be media hype and praise about that too.
Where are you getting this information? I've never seen a bill for an app update (even a $0 bill) and I've not seen any mention of this anywhere else.
The only thing I've seen that's remotely close is comparisons of the various developer programs, for a developer on Symbian a new app and an update to an existing app are priced/processed the same. However, that has nothing to do with apps sold.
DEMETRIUS: Villain, what hast thou done?
AARON: Villain, I have done thy mother.
Shakespeare invents 'your mom'