I was about to ignore this email from Microsoft but it seems there is a nugget of wonderful info in there. Remember when we said you could share your apps with four friends – behavior that essentially works on an iPhone and the App Store when you sync to the same iTunes instance? Well you can’t. OK? You can’t. Be quiet.
“Microsoft knows the frustration of losing favorite apps and personal information when you lose, upgrade, or add a phone. For this reason, if you buy an application on Windows Marketplace for Mobile, you’ll be able to reinstall the application on a limited number of additional phones simply and free of charge. As outlined in the terms of use for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, this ability is limited to phones owned by the person who purchased the application. Application sharing is not permitted. We believe people will find a high value in mobile applications they purchase through the Windows Marketplace, and we will also be offering a refund policy that will make it easier to shop for applications with confidence.”
Shhhhh. Come here. Put your head right here on my lap. Shhhh. No, I know you wanted to share that fart app. Shhh. Don’t cry. It’ll be over soon. It’ll be over.
That seems like something people should hold Microsoft’s feet to the fire about. Perhaps if we’re lucky, they can introduce this feature–one that the Iphone “essentially” does already– in a huge press conference, say, a year or two from now.