Microsoft Remote Software "Kill Switch" Confirmed

Microsoft have been spilling the beans on more Windows Marketplace for Mobile details at Tech.Ed New Zealand, including confirmation that the company will install a remote "kill switch" for removing software from users' smartphones.  The backdoor access will be used, apparently, should Microsoft approve and then later remove a title from the Marketplace; not only will it be stripped from the virtual store shelves, but automatically removed from any devices that have installed it.

It's unclear what will happen in terms of refunds for paid applications should that take place.  As for revenue sharing, Microsoft have confirmed that the developer will always see 70-percent of the dues from paid apps; if operators need to be paid, then Microsoft will settle with them out of its own 30-percent.  In return, developers will pay $99 for their first five app submissions with subsequent titles at $99 each; upgrades are permitted free, but Microsoft does not class switching an app from free to paid as an "upgrade".

The company have also fleshed out some of their approval guideline policies, including confirming that third-party apps which replace core functionality – together with mapping and navigation software – will be rejected.  However, unlike Apple's mobile platform, Microsoft are perfectly happy with developers distributing such titles – or indeed any app they themselves may have rejected – through the various other ways Windows Mobile supports.

[via Boy Genius Report]