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Microsoft has announced that it will offer a preview of Windows Phone 8 beginning September 12, but that preview will be limited to published developers. “The full Windows Phone 8 SDK will be made publicly available later this year when we unveil Windows Phone 8,” explained Microsoft’s Todd Brix. “Until then, we believe this program offers more published developers a way to explore the SDK and get started on the next wave of amazing Windows Phone apps.”
Predictably, the announcement inspired ire in the mobile development community. “I have been working on a Windows Phone app for 6 months and have held off publishing it to make it an early, full Windows Phone 8 app as I need some of the new functionality. Now you are going to tell me that even though I a registered developer, I will have to wait until the OS is released to have access to the SDK?” complained developer Benjamin Rockwell. “I feel like you really don’t care about your developers. Everyone I talk to says I should just go to iOS or Android, but I have been faithful, I at least expect the same in return.”
Seva Alekseyev commented, “So there’s no chance of getting my app ready by the time the platform first ships? Capital. Thanks for the disappointment, Microsoft. Developers, developers, developers my fanny.”
