Windows Marketplace for Mobile localisation problem acknowledged by Microsoft

You have probably encountered this”problem” if you had a chance to use the new Marketplace on Windows Mobile 6.5 . What happens is that for user in each of the 29 countries can only have access to Apps submitted to the own country’s store. A French user for example only sees 34 apss while a US user has access to hundreds of applications. One cause of this problem comes from the fact that developers have to pay an extra fee to submit their apps to another country ($10, how stupid is that?!) and have to translate their apps to the language of the country they want to submit it to (more stupidity on Microsoft’s part here). One of the solutions planned by Microsoft in the next Marketplace update is to let users select the country they want to have access too (why isn’t this option available in the first ??).

But in my eyes the only good solution is for Microsoft to drop the stupid £10 fee to submit your app in each additional country ($280 to submit to all the Marketplace, wth?)

Here’s what Microsoft Netherland’s Maarten Sonneveld had to say (Google Translation sorry):

Dear Vincent,

We regret your first experience with Marketplace and can you comment me suggestions. I’ve been raised in the Marketplace Product Team at our headquarters. I have to take issue with you that it has limited number of apps in the Netherlands are one result. This has more to do with our choice in the Marketplace application (which is at first only on the phone is) directly to the catalog of Dutch started and while we are so dependent on the ISV / developer apps Dutch submit.

I believe that you still have the application in any case in English might introduce. Then you already reach many countries. And I hope you do it for the NL market would submit, given the relatively high number of users of Windows phones.

It is also true that we’re somewhere in November / December with Phase 2 of the PC interface as well Marketplace on the phone to provide a so-called geo selector so the user can also choose from the catalog of other countries. I would like Dutchman is the catalog of the U.S. can choose and buy my apps there. I think the problem of possibly translation costs to be solved.

I’ll let you know what the reaction from the product team.

Sincerely,

Maarten Sonneveld

Microsoft Netherlands

And an German MS employe:

“Microsoft is aware of this problem. However, for the launch it wasn’t possible to change this Marketplace Mobile behavior but Microsoft will introduce a solution later which will allow the end-user to switch Marketplaces”.

Source: The Unwired, Mobilyz via WMPoweruser

MMTW Editorial