Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Submissions Underway

Developers have been asking when they can submit apps to the Marketplace for WP7. MS is taking a unique approach here and setting up triages.

• Oct 4: All registered developers have been contacted and invited to request early submission to the Marketplace certification process.
• Oct 6: Deadline for registered developers to respond to the invitation to participate in early submission. Of those that request access, an initial group of a couple of thousand developers will be accepted on a first come, first served basis to receive guidance and early access to the new application submission and certification process.
• Oct 11: Participating early certification developers will receive instructions on submitting their xaps, allowing those apps to be published in Marketplace in the lead up to, and after, launch.
• Oct 12–November: Microsoft will continue processing submissions and prioritizing new requests in the order they are received until the self-serve submission process is broadly enabled.

More facts from them:

• We expect to make Windows Phone Marketplace fully available to all developers in November, giving end users and developers alike the kind of quality experience that we hope will establish a rewarding long term relationship with Windows Phone. Test and near final apps and games are already showing up on pre-production devices. The list of available titles will grow daily as we near general availability to ensure that end users have a great catalog to shop on the day they pick up their new phone.
• The reporting will soon become more automated and self service. We’re also still working toward a beta distribution solution to allow developers to privately distribute their apps for testing through Marketplace. This solution will not be in place for the launch of Windows Phone 7, but it is a feature on our roadmap. And perhaps most importantly, developers can expect the first payout of sales to date to take place in February.

What this means to people buying in Europe in late October as anticipated is a mystery…