Screenshot of the Windows Marketplace Homepage. |
Windows Marketplace[1], was a Microsoft platform for the delivery of software electronically that worked with Windows Marketplace and was secured by use of Windows Live ID. The digital locker platform was composed of four major components:
For consumers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace could be used for purchasing and downloading third party software titles compatible with Microsoft Windows, and then using that purchased software on any computer the software license allows.
For software developers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace could be a cost-effective channel for the distribution of their software titles.
A Windows Vista Ultimate Extra, called Secure Online Key Backup allowed backing up EFS recovery certificates, as well as the BitLocker recovery password in the Digital Locker.[2]
Windows Marketplace was only available for residents of the USA.
On 14 November 2008, Microsoft announced that the Digital Locker will be shut down in 2009. Windows Marketplace will be drastically scaled back and people wishing to buy any Microsoft product will now have to go to the Microsoft Store, which will sell all items previously sold at Windows Marketplace.
On February 16, 2009 at the Mobile World Congress, Microsoft announced Windows Marketplace for Mobile which will deploy a similar concept to Windows Mobile devices.
A year after Microsoft introduced Windows Marketplace for Mobile, they announced their next generation mobile platform named Windows Phone. With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft completely revamped their mobile efforts and the Marketplace, introducing Windows Phone Marketplace.