Windows Phone Marketplace Open For Mango App Submissions

Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace has opened up its doors to app submissions for the upcoming Mango update. Back in July, Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace Senior Director Todd Brix had promised to start accepting submissions in late August and here we are with the Mango update rumored to launch in less than two weeks.

In the announcement today, Brix says that they will begin accepting and certifying Mango apps through the App Hub that use Mango's new fast app switching, background audio, multiple and double-sided Live Tiles and better Search integration. This means that these new Mango optimized apps could be published within a matter of days. But he quickly adds that it doesn't mean the Mango update itself will arrive on existing devices in the coming days. Instead, developers with Mango builds will start seeing these new apps in the Marketplace. The current 30,000 Windows Phone apps and game titles will also be able to run on Mango.

Brix also adds that they have updated and enhanced the Windows Phone SDK 7.1 with a Release Candidate of the SDK available in English and Japanese and a "Go Live" license for publishing to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Game developers are also now encouraged to submit their games to the 19 new Mango markets, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan.

The Mango update is a major overhaul of the platform with more than 500 new features. For more details on what to expect with the update, make sure to check out our Windows Phone 7.1 Mango technical preview. The update is rumored for a September 1 launch, with new Mango devices from Samsung, HTC, LG, Acer, and ZTE potentially unveiled at the upcoming IFA 2011.

[via Windows Team Blog]