By The iPhone has the App Store. Android has the Market. And until today, Windows Mobile had nothing. While 3rd party application could be downloaded and installed on WinMo phones, there was no centralized location to find the goods. If a recent job posting by Microsoft is to be believed, all that will soon change.
Windows Mobile 7 is slated to launch in early 2009 and with it will come SkyMarket, Microsoft’s centralized location for software distribution on Windows Mobile devices. Considering the platform has 18,000 applications in circulation – 9 times more than the iPhone – it seems they are a little late to the party. The confusion of where to download what for WinMo handsets causes many to simply stay away altogether. SkyMarket will be a much needed development for the often-dissed platform.
Interestingly enough, this latest information comes from a job posting that shows Microsoft is looking for a “Senior Product Manager – Skymarket” and also a “Commercial Integration” manager to oversee the launch of an applications marketplace service for Windows Mobile 7.
We’ve pasted the 2 job listings below. Stay tuned for announcements about BlackBerry’s BlackMarket and Palm’s BackHandMarket.
Job Title: Senior Product Manager – Skymarket
This is a unique opportunity and time of rapid change in the mobile industry for a Senior Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile.
Key Responsibilities include the following:
- Definition of the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace “the place to be” for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications
- Responsibility for the business model and key elements that will drive the optimal experience for developers and monetization of the service by Microsoft
- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the initial launch of the marketplace offering to the developer community this fall
- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration with stakeholders in the commercial launch of the marketplace service with the launch of WM 7
- Define and mange the consumer, developer and mobile operator value proposition and supporting materials for use by PR, MCB’s developer outreach organization, and other teams across Microsoft
- Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, business operations, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
- Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, and mobile operator scenarios
- Support business developments on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions
- Work closely with the Mobile Communication Business developer outreach organization
Product Manager – Commercial Integration
This is a unique opportunity for a Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration for the v1 launch of an applications marketplace service for Windows Mobile 7.
Key Responsibilities include the following:
- Drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration that will enable the Skymarket service and enable revenue collection from consumers of the service and payments to 3rd party developers selling applications/content through the marketplace
- Drive the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
- Benchmarking 3rd party mobile marketplaces for commercial integration options for consumers and developers, generating a set of best practices as input for the app market planner
- Working closely with product teams and potentially 3rd parties on mobile operator commercial integration
- Define the processes and KPI’s for measurement of the performance of the business
- Define processes for the on-going operation of the business including unds collection, payment, reporting requirements
- Oversight of 3rd party developer payments, tax issues, and funds management
Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, mobile operator integration, and internal commerce integration scenarios- Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
- Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
- Support business development on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions
- Management of KPI’s for the service post launch
[Via iStartedSomething]
Awesome. It seems like Apple really lit a fire under some asses with the iphone and I’m glad that there has been some good competition in the smartphone market as a result. When you’ve got all of these companies rushing to outdo each other on OS, apps, etc. we all win.
The shopped Terminator pic made me laugh. XD
About time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope they do as good a job as Apple.
“Define and mange the consumer”. Looks like they could use a new editor as well.