Marketplace App Submission Guidlines at 03:43

Microsoft have just released the Application Submission Guidlines.pdf for the soon to be opened Marketplace for Mobile here).

I have just read through the 14 key requirements and this all seems to be very stuff.
It stipulates the how the application should work, what it can do and what it can't do.
And it justifies each requirement quite reasonably.

They have also released the Marketplace Prohibited Application Types .pdf (here) and this has caused a bit of an uproar with certain sites.
It lists 12 rules which an app must adhere to and includes:

• Applications that are or distribute alternate marketplaces for content types (applications, games, themes etc.) that are sold or otherwise distributed through Windows® Marketplace for Mobile.
• Applications that enable VoIP (Voice over IP) services over a mobile operator network.
• Applications that replace, remove or modify the default dialer, SMS, or MMS interface.
• Applications that change the default browser, search client, or media player on the device.

Most of the rules follow similar lines; don't point to other download sites, don't cause too much network traffic, don't replace the core components of Windows Mobile.

The biggest controversy seems to be around the 'replacement' of SMS and the the browser.
Although, the replacement/changing may still allow parallel apps which duplicate the SMS/Browser apps.
The guidlines.pdf gives advise on sharing the default PIM store and we already have Opera, which MS allow.

Marketplace will allow far more apps than the AppStore would.
Most of this seems to down to interpretation.

Once it is open (officially) and we begin to see what is denied, we should have a far greater idea of what is and isn't allowed.