Microsoft to Give Sneak Peek at Windows 8 App Store

Microsoft will reveal more details about its Windows 8 app store at an event in San Francisco on Tuesday. Members of the media and invited developers will learn about the company's new store during a special two-hour presentation.

The new Windows Store is expected to launch after Windows 8 goes on sale next year, which is believed to be happening in the fall. Immediately accessible from Windows 8, the new app store is expected to be cast as a competitor to Apple's Mac App Store, offering free trials of Metro-themed programs in addition to the full paid versions, according to multiple reports.

There will also likely be a revenue-sharing arrangement in the new Windows store, according to a Fox News report. Apple offers app developers 70% of sales revenue, with the company keeping the rest, and the 70/30 split has since been adopted as a de facto industry standard.

Microsoft's new app store comes with the computing world in the midst of a shift from traditional menu tabs and pop-up windows to touch screens and apps, where Amazon and Apple have a distinct head start with the Kindle Fire and iPad, respectively. In a similar instance of the Seattle tech giant possibly playing catch-up, Microsoft was recently rumored to be developing a social network as well.

But industry insider, Myths of Innovation author and former Microsoft manager Scott Berkun told Mashable on Monday that, while Microsoft may be seen to be lagging in the app world, their sheer size makes the reality more promising.

"Microsoft is behind in terms of perception, but they often are," Berkun said in an email. "Their market is huge regardless of what the perception is — they don't need to make that large a splash. Provided they get the basics right, meaning buying apps through their store is one or two steps simpler than other means, there is enormous potential."

Berkun also said he believes Microsoft's new store is a serious bid bid for market share, not just a keeping-up-with-the-Jobses attempt — and a bid that could even hurt itself in other sectors.

"I think Microsoft is fully committed," Berkun wrote. "Their retail partners are likely miffed by Microsoft doing all this, so if they're launching, Microsoft is serious."

PCMag columnist John Dvorak greeted the new Windows Store with skepticism, writing that, while Microsoft clearly fears software piracy, "legitimate users like the freedom to choose software without Big Daddy Microsoft pre-selecting it." An app store, Dvorak writes, "is a convenient method of distribution but puts too much power in the hands of Microsoft, as it does for Apple with its most onerous Mac App Store."

For now, though, just how similar the Windows Store is to its competitors remains to be seen. On Tuesday, Mashable and its readers will find out more at Microsoft's special San Francisco event.

What do you think Microsoft has up its sleeve? Let us know in the comments.