We were hoping to have all our questions answered about Windows Phone Marketplace today - especially since it's clearer than ever that Marketplace is really going to be the only way for consumers to get apps on their device. We know a bit more than we did before, but "We'll tell you at MIX" has been replaced with "We'll release more details in May" for many of the essentials.

We do have a few more details - we'll drop those and some images from the presentation after the break!

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"Developers, developers, developers." That was Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's battle cry some time ago, and it rings true today with Windows Phone 7 Series.

After the break is a list of developers already on board for Windows Phone 7 Series. Some names you'll know -- The Associated Press, Pandora, Seesmic, Sling, Citrix. Others are new.

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LAS VEGAS -- We were promised more answers at MIX10, and now we're getting them. Microsoft this morning announced its developer tools for Windows Phone 7 Series.

Front and center is Silverlight. The Silverlight 4 Release Candidate is now available, "which will enable developers to create and deploy even more robust applications and rich interactive experiences." It finally brings what was born as a Flash alternative to the mobile space -- and not just as another way to view content in a browser. Silverlight's a major player here, folks, along with the XNA framework that's already been discussed.

Developer tools are free, including Expression Blend, and a preview of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express is part of the download. What, you're not up on your Expression Blend? It's a "development workflow tool which includes features such as Path Layout to enable developers and designers to build and animate innovative UI design via ground-breaking visual layout mechanism, without the need to write code. The beta also supports Silverlight 4, .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010." Think of it as more of a visual tool, rather than coding line by line.

Windows Phone Marketplace replaces the Windows Marketplace for Mobile (finally, Microsoft manages to find a shorter name for something), which brings "a new merchandising tool that will enable developers and designers to bring applications and games to market and increase the discoverability of applications with customers while supporting one-time credit card purchases, mobile operator billing and advertising-funded applications."

There's tons more to come this week, and we'll dive deeper into things as the week progresses.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we're back in Las Vegas for MIX10, where Microsoft will serve up more details about Windows Phone 7 Series.

We're expecting a whole lot of inside baseball -- this is a developers conference, after all. But we're also expecting to see some answers for questions that were left lingering after Mobile World Congress.

We'll have live coverage from this morning's keynote (9 a.m. PDT), and more today and throughout the week. Stay with us.

One of the hurdles Microsoft faces in making a success out of Windows Phone 7 Series is winning over the software developers.

Microsoft may be able to establish consistency with regards to the WP7S hardware but if you don't have functional software to put on the phone, it won't survive for long. To do so, Microsoft needs to garner the support of developers, large and small. Microsoft's willingness to tackle the fragmentation that Windows phones has historically possessed is a step in the right direction but there's still plenty of work needed to be done. 

Follow the link to read more.

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Since the introduction of Windows Phone 7 Series, there have probably been more questions than answers, especially around the notion of multitasking, notifications, application development, etc. Microsoft has stated that the majority of that will be addressed next month at MIX10, a conference dedicated to development on Microsoft's various platforms (which are becoming more and more interlinked).

To steal some of that thunder are a few documents that reportedly show exactly what developers can expect, and what they can and can't do.

First up is confirmation of preemptive multi-tasking, which is a very good thing.  But now the catch: not all applications and programs will have access to that feature. From what it appears, developers will have to get their applications approved for use of multi-tasking features: the public will have access to managed API's and upon approval, access to native APIs.

Think of it as a compromise between the current "no multitasking" on the iPhone versus the wild west approach of the past Windows Mobile platform. Of course the success or failure of such an approach depends on how fair Microsoft is in granting such permissions.

The other thing to note is what WP7 is built on: XNA, Silverlight and .NET CF. XNA UI is for event-driven XAML based application developtment, whereas XNA is better suited for gaming (see XBox programming).

Overall, it looks to be a great strategy, offering developers low-cost access to well know development tools that have been tried and tested in the past and at the same time, setting rigid, but on request flexible, guidelines to guarantee a certain level of performance and adherence to the "3 screens" (Computer, TV, PC) vision Microsoft is putting forth.

More images after the break...

[XDA Developers via Engadget]

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Some notes out of a "Breakfast with Ballmer" (in Boston no less, for you lovers of all things alliterative) showed an interesting exchange between the Microsoft CEO and a former Lotus executive.

As recounted by correspondent Scott Kirsner on Boston.com:

The one sparky interchange -- no surprise -- seems to have been initiated by angel investor (and former Lotus exec) John Landry, who said it seemed to him that Microsoft is still very much focused on desktop computing, and considers all other devices to be peripherals to the PC. Landry waved his iPhone and said he does 80 percent of his work on that device. Ballmer responded by saying that Microsoft was aware that it has to do much better with Windows Mobile 7, its forthcoming mobile operating system (the release of which has been pushed back into 2010). "We know we have to kill on that one," a meeting attendee recalled Ballmer saying. (I've got a call in to Landry, to get his version of the discussion about the iPhone.)

Twitter entrepreneur Laura Fitton also noted that very few people are developing Twitter apps for Windows Mobile. Ballmer responded by saying Microsoft realizes that the company is engaged in a long campaign to get more developers writing apps for the Windows Mobile OS.

Hmmmmm. Tens of thousands of apps out there, but nobody's developing for Windows Mobile? "Very few" Twitter apps? We've got a couple hundred apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile already, and we're expecting tons more next month in Phase II. Anybody else smell trouble here?

We're getting closer day by day to the long-awaited launch of the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. In the slideshow above (hit the full-screen button if you actually want to see anything) we get a look at what developers see when they're registering apps for the Marketplace. Inside baseball, for sure, but interesting nonetheless. [via Windows Mobile Team blog]

And one item to note is on Slide 8, under "Payment Information." It appears that to pay through the Mobile Operator system, an app must be priced using choices Microsoft provides. Otherwise, purchase is only available using a credit card. (See our previous discussion on 99-cent apps.)

Choose a price for your product from the list of available Mobile Operator price points below. The prices in each market are calculated based on your selection.

The number of Mobile Operator price points is limited but ensures that your application will be available for purchase via mobile operator billing (with participating operators). If you wish to select a different price point select "choose your own price." In this case, users will only be able to pay for your application using a credit card.

We'll just have to see what kind of headaches that causes. If you want some more goodies, check after the jump for a slide show of how developers register for the Marketplace.

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Loads more on the upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile at www.mobilethisdeveloper.com.

Gotta love Microsoft for this one. The mother ship shows its chutzpah and has released a developers guide for porting iPhone apps over to Windows mobile 6.5, using an app called Amplitude for the case study. All in all, not a bad idea, really. Let's face it: There are a bunch of apps we'd love to see running natively on Windows Mobile. (And we've got a few that would be killer on the iPhone, though there's no way Apple would let most of the them into the App Store.)

Yeah, yeah. Microsoft (and us, by extension) are just opening ourselves up for further ridicule here. Go head, Apple lovers, joke all you want. But while you're doing so, we'll be sitting here enjoying our excellent third-party media players and Google Voice. Microsoft opening its (far less Draconian) doors to developers is a win for them, and for us.

Via the Windows Team Blog