Everyone here is really excited that Windows Phone 8 is becoming more widely available in China. We worked hard to tailor both the phone and the Windows Phone Store for new customers there, and today I wanted to briefly highlight a few of the features we enabled.
The most notable local feature is that Windows Phone 8 customers in China can now pay for apps or games in the Windows Phone Store with Alipay, the country’s most popular e-payment service. On the phone, customers can make purchases with Alipay or local credit and debit cards. Our web Store requires Alipay for all payments.
On the app download page, there’s also a new “sold by” field (shown below) in addition to the name of the app publisher. That’s because we’re now partnering with MSN China, Sina, and Tencent to sell the apps and games in the Windows Phone Store in China. The local seller’s name and contact info also appear on purchase receipts, so customers can ask questions or resolve issues related to app purchases via local phone support.
Xbox games are also now available for purchase in the Windows Phone Store in China. These titles offer Xbox leaderboards, avatars, achievements and other features that Xbox gamers love. There are also thousands of great indie titles to choose from.
So that’s some of what customers in China can expect in the Store for Windows Phone 8. There are also some local touches built into Windows Phone 8 itself—like Sina Weibo integration in People Hub. You can find out more on the China version of the Windows Phone website. Retail stores in China will also continue to carry phones with Windows Phone 7.5 and 7.8; those devices will continue to accept international credit cards only for app purchases. Some Xbox games will be available on Windows Phone 7.8 devices.
I hope you like these local touches in the new Windows Phone Store for China and the all-new Windows Phone 8. If you’re a developer, you’ll want to check out today’s blog post from my colleague Todd Brix.
我期待着你们对全新的Windows Phone 8的体验.