With Apple poised to finally confirm its long-rumored tablet device on Wednesday, Amazon.com is going on the offensive--as Apple muscles in on its Kindle ereader territory, the online retail giant is targeting the App Store in kind, releasing a software development kit offering coders the means to build and upload "active content" for the Kindle platform. According to Amazon, the Kindle Development Kit will include access to programming interfaces, tools and documentation for both the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX, enabling creation of content that leverages Kindle hallmarks like seamless and invisible 3G wireless delivery, high-resolution electronic paper display and battery life extending as long as seven days with wireless activated. Amazon will kick off a Kindle Development Kit beta trial next month (details here), and adds that firms including Handmark, EA Mobile and Sonic Boom are already creating content for the platform.

The challenge facing Amazon is the same one looming in front of all of Apple's rivals: How to lure developers away from the iPhone, especially with the promise of the Apple tablet on the horizon. Amazon does not report Kindle sales totals, although analysts project the number sold at between 1.5 million and 2 million--by contrast, Apple announced Monday that it sold 8.7 million iPhones and 21 million iPods in Q1 2010 alone. Jeff Smith, CEO of Smule--the startup behind App Store bestsellers including I Am T-Pain and Ocarina--tells BusinessWeek that while it might cost 10 percent of the original development outlay of an iPhone app to fashion a new version for the tablet, it would probably cost as much as another 70 percent to rewrite the software for the Kindle. Developing for Amazon would essentially mean "rethinking how I design applications from the start," Smith adds.

But the biggest obstacle facing Amazon could be the quirks inherent in the Kindle concept. As the Kindle Development Kit homepage points out, Kindles are not smartphones: Users don't pay a monthly wireless fee or sign up for an annual service contract. Which means Kindle applications must be priced to cover the associated costs of downloads and ongoing usage--according to Amazon, that translates to content delivery fees of 15 cents per megabyte. (Applications smaller than 1MB that use less than 100KB per user per month may be offered free to consumers--Amazon will cover any wireless costs associated with delivery and maintenance.) On top of that, Kindle applications will face an upper size limit of 100MB; apps larger than 10MB will not be delivered over-the-air, meaning consumers must instead download content from the Kindle Store to a computer and transfer the app to their Kindle via USB. For niche developers and content providers like educational software designers and comic book publishers, the chance to reach the core Kindle demographic could be a game-changer, but most programmers may have to change up too much of their own game to make the opportunity worth pursuing. -Jason

Booyah attracted attention months before releasing its first mobile application: In spring 2009, the firm landed $4.5 million in Series A funding via Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers' iFund, the $100 million investment initiative created to support ideas and products for the iPhone and iPod touch platform. KPCB's instincts proved correct when Booyah launched its first iPhone title MyTown in December--the location-based social gaming application already boasts more than 500,000 users playing the game an average of more than 30 minutes a day, reaching number seven on the App Store's top free apps list. FierceDeveloper speaks to Booyah co-founder and CEO Keith Lee about playing in the real world and the importance of originality.

Mobile software developer Bolt Creative announced its Pocket God has now sold more than 2 million copies via Apple's App Store--according to the firm, it's the first premium iPhone and iPod touch application to reach the 2 million sales benchmark. First released in January 2009, the 99-cent Pocket God--a casual game giving users the opportunity to rule their own remote island, complete with deity-like powers--has released close to 30 free updates in the last 12 months; Bolt Creative reports the title has moved as many as 53,000 units in a single day, and downloads topped 100,000 per week throughout the holiday season.

For more on the Pocket God milestone:
- read this release

Microsoft briefly posted a Windows Mobile 6.5 software development kit to its Microsoft Download Center website last week, removing the SDK within a matter of hours. According to ZDNet, the WinMo 6.5 SDK appeared on Jan. 22, and remained online long enough for some bloggers and developers to download the kit--some speculate Microsoft pulled the download because it reportedly contains widget tools and emulators for Windows Mobile 6.5.3, an interim build said to add support for "touchable tiles" as well as enhanced gesture support, a revamped address book and updated start menu placement.

With the web buzzing about the SDK post, Microsoft on Monday issued the following statement: ""On Friday, January 22nd Microsoft prematurely posted a version of an upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK to a public facing Web page. While the SDK was not announced or promoted, it was discovered and generated questions from the community. The beta SDK has since been removed and will be reposted once final testing has been conducted. We apologize for any inconvenience."

The WinMo 6.5 SDK snafu seems likely to fuel increased speculation over Microsoft's mobile roadmap and the long-promised release of Windows Mobile 7. While some sources report the software giant will formally announce the revamped OS during February's Mobile World Congress 2010 event in Barcelona, others indicate it is now delayed until 2011.

For more on the WinMo 6.5 SDK release:
- read this ZDNet article

Related articles:
Microsoft to discontinue Mobile2Market program
Microsoft adopting chassis strategy for Windows Mobile 7

A number of Windows Mobile developers are venting their frustration with Microsoft over Windows Marketplace for Mobile payment delays, posting messages on the Windows Mobile Developer Center forum that indicate they are owed substantial sums derived from premium application downloads via the storefront. According to this thread, multiple WinMo developers are awaiting payment following extended delays, some dating back to October 2009 and in several cases totaling thousands of dollars--on its Windows Mobile for Developers FAQ, Microsoft pledges to pay within 15 to 30 days for credit card billing, and within 90 to 120 days for mobile operator billing. "If you're a developer, you will be paid 70 percent of all application sale prices as your revenue share," the FAQ states. "At the end of the month, Microsoft will total all transactions for your application sales on which we were able to collect money. Your 70 percent revenue share is then applied to the total and if that equals or exceeds $200 USD we will initiate an Electronic Funds Transfer payment to your bank account."

Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile product manager Mihir Rao responded directly to the Windows Mobile Developer Center thread, stating that Microsoft completed its first round of payouts in December and plans a second round this month. According to Rao, there appears to be confusion around Dashboard status updates indicating whether a developer is eligible for payout, suggesting that some programmers are currently ineligible due to missing bank or tax information, or because the $200 threshold has not been met. However, multiple developers responded to Rao's post to report their Dashboard has read "Eligible for revenue payout" since last fall.

"I see my explanation of the ‘Eligible for revenue payout' status has raised more questions than it has answered," Rao wrote in a post dated Jan. 21. "I am going to get some more details on this particular dashboard status to provide further clarification. I will post back with more details by the end of this week, so stay tuned."

For more on the Windows Marketplace payment delays:
- read this Ars Technica article

Related articles:
Windows Marketplace extends to WinMo 6.0 and 6.1
Microsoft adds online app sales to Windows Marketplace

Smartphone shipments worldwide will increase to 390 million units by 2013--a compound annual growth rate of 20.9 percent over the 2009-2013 forecast period in question--according to research firm IDC. While IDC predicts the Symbian operating system will retain its global leadership position over that time thanks largely to Nokia's dominance in markets outside of the U.S., Android is expected to experience faster growth than any of its rivals, leaping from 2008 shipments of 690,000 to 68 million units by 2013, a CAGR of 150.4 percent. IDC adds Android will benefit from the growing footprint of handset vendors supporting the platform, and will finish second to Symbian in shipments by 2013.

On the flipside, IDC forecasts Linux and Palm's webOS shipments will struggle throughout the forecast period. Shipments of Linux-powered devices are expected to trend down due to greater emphasis on the Android platform, although some vendors will continue to support the platform--as for webOS, IDC believes the operating system will grow steadily, but will ultimately capture only narrow market share as a result of limited deployment and operator availability.

For more on the IDC forecast:
- read this release

Related articles:
Android explodes into the consumer consciousness
Over half of Android developers dissatisfied with app profits

Microsoft will discontinue Mobile2Market, its mobile application certification and marketing program for independent software and hardware vendors. According to an email sent last week by Microsoft to Mobile2Market members, the software giant will terminate the program on Feb. 18. "Benefits of the program--including Buy It Now functionality with online distributors, the Windows Mobile Catalog, the Designed for Windows Mobile 6 logo, and Microsoft Partner Points--will no longer be available after that date," the email reads. "The Logo License Agreement for Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, and 6.1 also will end effective February 18, 2010, at which time distribution of and all references to the aforementioned logos will need to cease."

The email does not expand on Microsoft's decision to shut down the Mobile2Market effort. Calls to Microsoft were not returned prior to press time.

Related articles:
Microsoft adopting chassis strategy for Windows Mobile 7
Can Microsoft woo iPhone developers to Windows Mobile?

Consumers worldwide will download about 4.51 billion mobile applications in 2010 according to a new forecast issued by research firm Gartner, increasing from 2.51 billion downloads last year--that translates to app store revenues close to $6.8 billion, up from $4.2 billion in 2009. Gartner anticipates that free applications will represent 82 percent of app store downloads in 2010, a number that will grow to 87 percent of downloads in 2013 even as expected revenues jump to $29.5 billion: Gartner estimates corresponding mobile advertising revenues will leap from $600 million per year in 2009 to about $7 billion in 2013 as developers embrace a host of mechanisms to subsidize their efforts. Gartner contends that developers have little choice but to pin their hopes on mobile advertising, arguing that as smartphones continue to come down in price, the new wave of mass-market users will be reluctant to pay for mobile software. "Growth in smartphone sales will not necessarily mean that consumers will spend more money, but it will widen the addressable market for an offering that will be advertising-funded," Gartner research director Stephanie Baghdassarian said in a prepared statement. "The value chain of the application stores will evolve as rules are set and broken in an attempt to find the most profitable business model for all parties involved."

But some experts question whether existing mobile advertising concepts and approaches are on the right track. The doubters are said to include Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who believes "mobile ads suck" according to BusinessWeek, citing a source familiar with Jobs' thinking. So Apple reportedly is exploring new approaches to mobile advertising in the wake of its recent agreement to acquire mobile ad network Quattro Wireless, plotting ways to exploit consumer data to better serve mobile advertisements. Insiders say Apple's efforts seek to make ads more relevant to consumers, factoring into the equation data like purchases and downloads from iTunes and the App Store as well as geo-location. "[Apple] could also use the iPhone's capabilities in creative ways--say, having someone shake the device to win a rebate the same way they do to roll dice in games," the report notes.

Despite Gartner's app store revenue projections for the year ahead, more than half of developers are pessimistic about their immediate financial outlook. A new Mobile Entertainment Forum study examining the state of the U.S. mobile content value chain reports that among 100 respondents from 80 companies spanning across the mobile entertainment landscape, 42 percent said they expect at least a 20 percent revenue increase in 2009, and 58 percent anticipate comparable revenue growth in 2010--app developers are less optimistic than any other industry segment the MEF polled, with only 48 percent believing revenues will increase 20 percent or more this year. MEF Americas chairman Jim Beddows theorizes developers have serious doubts about the longterm viability of current marketplace conditions: "The explosion of app stores and applications continues to feed consumer demand, but it's still not proven whether there's a sustainable revenue model," he said in an interview with FierceDeveloper. Nor is it proven that mobile advertising is the solution to those concerns, but if not, then what is? -Jason

Following Apple's announcement it will unveil its "latest creation"--presumably the computing giant's much-rumored tablet device--at a Jan. 27 media event, Fox News is reporting Apple will also introduce version 4.0 of its iPhone operating system. According to an email invitation mailed out Monday, Apple will release an unspecified new product during an invitation-only event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater on Jan. 27--citing a source inside Apple, Fox News states the spotlight will fall on the tablet, iPhone 4.0 and a new suite of iLife 2010 software. "While we won't see new iPhone hardware just yet, we will see the next-generation software," the report adds, while noting Apple is infamous for making last-minute changes prior to media events.

The Apple tablet and the role the iPhone OS will play on the device have been the subject of months of speculation. Late last year, Silicon Alley Insider reported some Apple developer partners were asked to prepare new, higher-resolution versions of their applications for a January demonstration: "They've told select developers that as long as they build their apps to support full screen resolution--rather than a fixed 320x480--their apps should run just fine," a source said. In addition, French website Mac4Ever is reporting some developers have already gotten their hands on a new iPhone 4.0 SDK beta including a simulator that promises to simplify adapting iPhone applications to different screen resolutions.

For more on the iPhone 4.0 speculation:
- read this Fox News article

Related articles:
Apple field testing next-generation iPhone?
iPhone developers mad as hell, not going to take it anymore
Apple releases iPhone SDK 3.1.2

Verizon Wireless announced it is now accepting binary submissions for its forthcoming V Cast Apps mobile software storefront. According to an email sent out last week to Verizon Developer Community members, programmers who've successfully submitted concepts to V Cast Apps can now upload binary files as well as provide additional information including Icons, Application Descriptors, Pricing, Export Compliance and Version Information. Upon accepting a binary submission, V Cast Apps will notify developers of certification results via email. Verizon Wireless adds it has updated its VDC forums with new links to app submission resources.

During the recent Consumer Electronics Show event in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless said it is "on the cusp" of launching V Cast Apps, originally slated to go live in late 2009. Verizon Wireless director of business development Todd Murphy did not offer a specific launch date, but said the storefront would initially be available across five of the operator's BlackBerry smartphones: The Storm 1 and 2, the Curve 1 and 2, and the BlackBerry Tour. "We're just waiting for that inflection point" of enough quality applications, Murphy said, adding "We believe that when we put this out into the marketplace, it will have a significant impact." Murphy said Verizon Wireless currently counts about 3,500 developers registered in the VDC program.

For more on V Cast Apps' progress:
- check out the Verizon Developer Community website

Related articles:
Verizon Developer Community membership soars in first month
Mobigloo wins Verizon's Apply Your Ideas contest