[mbloof]

Personally,

I do not use pirated 'content', be it video, audio, software or firmware.

While I've tried and somewhat been a consumer of WM 'products' for years, if I were a developer, I'd have to rethink my business plan before entering the WM market space.

Palm made the 'smart thing in pocket' popular. Not only were its origional designs simple and simple to use, but there were 1000's of free applications created for it.
The Palms were for the most part - develop once - use on almost all devices.

WM on the other hand was fairly slow to be accepted, slow to have a decent collection of freeware and (in the early days even more so) was/is riddled with incompatabilitys.

While development for all the different devices/screen resolutions/input methods/exc. has got to be costly, the resulting applications are/were quite frankly, WAY TO expensive. $40 for a 'hand held application'??? You've got to be kidding! $25? Absurd! $9.95? Yea right!

I hate to say it, but I have PAID the amounts shown above for WM applications before, simply because I had a overwhelming NEED for them and there were no free or inexpensive alternatives available.

With the addition of Apple and the 'app-store' to the market place, we consumers have seen how productive, usefull and FUN applications need not be costly. We've also seen how even pricing something at $1 can make millions for the developer.

Granted, the RIM, iPhone, (Android?) platforms are (like the Palms before them) STABLE and things like screen resolutions, memory size and input methods don't change like they do on the WM platform.

Historically WM applications are priced like a desktop application. However, I can take a software CD which I bought for my desktop/laptop 10years ago, plug it in and there's a %99.99 chance it will work just dandy on whatever box I load it on today.

Try that with a WM application. It ain't going to happen.

In a world where a consumer can get quality free (or cheap) applications that are 'buy once' with free/automatic upgrades its a very very hard to sell a platform where in the applications cost (on average) 10x, have little or no free upgrades, expire over time or when you get a new (even if same model) device and/or upgrade your device.

In conclusion, we live in a disposable world. The phone I have today will be replaced within 2years if not before. The new device will likely have a different screen resolution, memory size and CPU. Developing and pricing for a non-existant 'keep and use forever' market in a 'throw-a-way' and disposable world ain't going to work.

Don't bitch at the users, bitch at MS for not providing a platform which is easy to make money developing for, bitch at the carriers for nickel-an-dime its users to death ($$ for a wallpaper? $$ for a theme? you have GOT to be kidding) and lastly, bitch at Apple and Google for creating a platform/business model/market that others developers can thrive in.