Microsoft curbs Windows Phone app spam with daily 10-app cap
updated 07:45 pm EDT, Thu September 29, 2011
Microsoft toughens Windows Phone app caps Sept 30
Microsoft's Todd Brix warned Thursday that the company would be tightening its cap on the number of apps a Windows Phone publisher can post to the Marketplace every day. Starting September 30, publishers can post no more than 10 per day unless they have a previous deal allowing more. The OS developer plans more of a crackdown as well and will be more "proactive" in enforcing caps, ranging from pulling the apps to banning a publisher temporarily or even permanently.
The count is half as much as what Microsoft allowed before.
Brix explained the decision as a reaction to a fresh surge in bulk app publishing, where a developer posts many apps in one day. Often, these are only slight variants on each other and are intended to flood the market to push out competitors. Microsoft has argued that the tactic is not only unfair but that it's unneeded, since top and featured apps are based on downloads and reviews, rewarding honest developers for popular or quality apps.
Although device sales have been poor, Windows Phone has been one of the most popular app platforms for developers, with tens of thousands of apps posted in less than a year where Nokia and RIM have struggled. [via WinRumors]
