As previously announced, 23 new markets will be joining the App Hub submission database for Windows Phone marketplace this month. Specifically, the 23 new markets are the following: Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam. This will bring the total to 63 storefronts available for developers to succeed in the Windows Phone marketplace.
Todd Brix, over at The Windows Phone Developer Blog, closes up with some useful information for developers eager and ready to submit to these new markets.
How can you take advantage? Just visit App Hub once it’s been updated and select the markets where you’d like to publish your apps—or choose “worldwide” (even if you’ve selected this before) to make them available everywhere. We’re not adding new App Hub locations in this release. If it’s not available where you live, use aglobal publisher to submit your app.
Keep in mind that some new markets— Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—are subject to additional certification requirements due to local laws or norms. Check Section 3.10 of our content policy for more details.
Finally, due to the volume of new app submissions and updates, it’s taking at least 7 calendar days to certify apps—a number that could increase. Just something to consider if you’re aiming to have your app live by a particular date.
When App Hub is ready for you to start submitting to these new markets in the next week or two, I’ll be back to let you know.
It’s great to see that Microsoft realizes it’s not just about having a large variety of Windows Phone devices, but also about catering to all the markets around the world. It is crucial not only for developers looking to expand, but for customers living in those markets as well.
Can’t come soon enough!