Microsoft revs up Windows Mobile Market store

Microsoft is up against Google's Android Market and Apple's iPhone App Store

Microsoft is finally preparing to launch its new Windows Mobile Market application service.

The company confirmed that it will open the submission process for its online store on 27 July to 29 supported countries, including most of Europe and North America.

Microsoft is asking developers to submit applications for the service, pointing to the millions of users already running Windows Mobile handsets. The company is also holding a developer conference, and will announce details later this month.

Todd Brix, senior director for mobile platform services product management at Microsoft, said in a blog post that, in addition to Windows Mobile 6.5, the store will support handsets running Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1.

"We are working hard to create a new experience for mobile users and developers alike, where users can easily discover and confidently purchase and download applications for work, life or play, and developers feel good about the submission process and are able to reach a new market for their mobile applications," he said.

Microsoft hopes that the service will provide competition for competing offerings such as Google's Android Market and Apple's iPhone App Store.

Microsoft's announcements come on the same day that Apple celebrated a landmark for its own store. The company revealed on Monday that its App Store had served up more than 1.5 billion iPhone and iPod Touch applications.