The Windows Phone Dev Center for developers of the phone was unveiled last week. The Dev Center was designed to make life easier for current and potential developers.
According to a Windows blog post by Ash Wahi, program manager for the Dev Center, the new Dev Center is the successor to the retired App Hub developer portal. The new Center is “designed to provide everything you need to build, publish and manage apps for Windows Phone around the world,” he said in the post.
The new Center includes several new features and developments, including being completely redesigned with publishing apps in mind. According to Wahi, the center opens up many more markets and avenues of getting paid than were previously available, including Paypal support. Developers can also set unique price points in each region and country an app is available.
The Dev Center also added an improved account sign-up and submission process, as well as a better integration of Microsoft Advertising’s pubCenter. This allows users to create a pubCenter account and ad units in the same space the apps are managed. The Center also has a better analytics tool for tracking app downloads and performance.
The new Center can now be used on Windows 7.5, or earlier, apps.
Source: Windows Blog
It isn’t uncommon to find mobile app developers that are frustrated at the low amount of revenue they received on their apps. App development can require a significant investment, and earning back that investment can be a challenge. Many developers have versions of their apps that are ad-supported, but making money from advertising can be hit or miss. For every success story, there are hundreds of people struggling to break even. It doesn’t help that there aren’t very many advertising dollars set aside by advertisers for mobile apps.
