Microsoft unveils app store for Windows 8

Boasting new application capabilities unique to its own software, Microsoft® has unveiled its new Windows® Store for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

According to Microsoft's vice president of Windows Web Services, Antoine Leblond, the Windows Store will be available in beta starting in February. The storefront caters to the tiled interface of Windows 8’s Metro style and is optimized for tablet computers as well as traditional desktop and laptop PCs.

In an effort to woo developers, Microsoft says it will offer free trials of the Metro-style apps. Unlike Apple®, Microsoft said its Windows Store will support apps written in various programming languages, such as JavaScript and HTML5. Microsoft will split app sales revenue 70-30 with developers, but after an app reaches $25,000 in sales, the rate will be bumped up to 80-20.

The full version of the Windows Store is expected to be available in the fall of 2012 alongside the release of Windows 8.

Industry observers have predicted that Windows 8 will have a greater impact on Microsoft's tablet business than that of traditional PCs. This move may be somewhat deliberate, as Microsoft has struggled to make much noise in the tablet market to date.