Earlier we reported that Microsoft announced you could buy 1 app for 5 phones in Windows Marketplace. Like expected, there was quite some developer response and Microsoft now gave a statement on this application sharing:

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. (via BoyGenius)

So you can not buy an app once and give it for free to 4 friends. For developers, this is a good step. It would have been frustrating to see popular priced applications getting on 5 phones, while the developer would have got paid for 1.

Microsoft announced that it will support so-called application sharing in Windows Marketplace. Users can buy an application once, and get it on up to 5 different Windows Mobile phones:

This would primarily benefit individuals owning multiple smartphones running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, which is needed to access Microsoft’s online store.

But it could also allow users to share apps by “authorizing” the phones of close friends and family using the same generation of Windows Mobile phone, said Daniel Bouie, a senior product planner for Microsoft, during a talk last week at the software maker’s Tech Ed conference.
(via Computerworld)

So you can buy an app once and give it for free to 4 friends. Consumers will love it, but what about developers?

Many developers out there create great apps that friends recommend to each other. So instead of selling 5 apps, a developer might be selling only 1 in these cases. We are curious to see whether Microsoft will be able to maintain this policy.