Mar 22

Written by:
2011/03/22 08:34 AM 

Since the launch of Microsoft Windows Phone 7, over 1 million developer tools have been downloaded worldwide.

For Windows Phone 7, or any mobile operating system to succeed, it has to have a lot of available tools and apps. It has to encourage developers to develop these tools and apps. It has to have a place to market those tools and apps.

Windows Phone 7 marketplace – No entry

The place to upload Windows Phone 7 apps is to the Windows Phone Marketplace Hub.  Currently there are over 100 apps uploaded daily. Which is a great testimony to the growth and acceptability of Windows Phone 7.

But only if you are outside of certain regions. If you are in the MEA, Middle East and Africa, you have no opportunity to upload your Windows Phone apps.

Why this is I have no idea, and to discuss that is not in the scope of this post. The point is that there is a significant market that has been cut out.

Living in South Africa, having tested the Window Phone 7 and fallen in love with it. I was really disappointed, that as a developer I could not publish any apps that I might develop.

Having this restriction to the Windows Phone market place will surely hamper Windows phone 7 development and ultimately it’s success.

Yalla Apps Portal

Enter Prototype Interactive. They have launched a Windows Phone 7 Developer Portal for the Middle East & Africa region.

Yalla Apps is a viable alternative to publish your WP7 Apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace? Yalla Apps provides the solution by publishing your apps to the Marketplace on your behalf.

That’s right, Yalla Apps publishes your and my apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Giving you and I, people from MEA, equal opportunity to present and publish our skills on the Windows Phone Marketplace.

“Prototype Interactive in association with Microsoft announced the launch of “Yalla Apps” (http://www.yallaapps.com) during Tech Ed Middle East in Dubai. Yalla Apps is a regional Windows Phone 7 developer portal managed by Prototype Interactive, a leading UAE based digital agency. Yalla Apps will serve as an accelerator for the creation, availability and submission of local Windows Phone 7 applications from the developer community across the Middle East and Africa region (MEA) in addition to enabling them to be part of the growing global Windows Phone 7 developer community.”

Yalla Apps is free to sign up with. So, what can you do with Yalla Apps?

• Publish your apps to the Windows Phone marketplace
• Unlock your device for testing (fees apply)
• Share and download code in the Module Market
• Smooth certification process
• Join the developer community

Now we have no excuse

I have to say that I was a bit confused and uninterested with Windows Phone development when I heard and saw that I was unable to contribute to the Windows Phone Marketplace.

I was probably a little angry as well. I mean why exclude a large market.

But now I am relieved and have no excuse. You and I, if we live in the MEA, have no excuse now to develop for the Windows Phone. We now have the ability to publish to the Windows Phone Marketplace and even earn a few dollars here and there.

So what do you say, lets show the rest of the world what Africa can produce!

I’d also be keen to hear your thoughts on yalla apps. Especially those who already have access to the Window Phone Marketplace. Do you think this is the right move to include the rest of us to the Windows Phone Marketplace?

Your thoughts?

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