The Windows Marketplace for Mobile is set to launch at the same time as Windows Mobile 6.5. As we near the October 6th release date, new details are coming to light. Among those is the fact that Microsoft has built a kill switch into the store:
If an application is approved but later removed from the marketplace it will then be automatically removed from all mobile devices.
Terms within the end user license agreement (EULA) will give Microsoft the ability to remotely wipe an application should it decide to pull a previously approved application. As a result, users may not be given any notice that an application has been removed from their device. It’s also not clear whether Microsoft would refund the purchase price in such cases.
While it remains to be seen how often Microsoft will use this feature, we will still be able to buy Windows Mobile software from third-party application stores and directly from developers.