However you feel about Windows Mobile 6.5, chances are you don't have it, so you (probably) haven't been able to try out the new Marketplace for Mobile. Starting today—earlier than promised!—anyone with a 6.x handset can access it.

Microsoft added a few nice new features to its Windows Mobile Marketplace today, including enhanced security and a nice-looking store that can be accessed from your computer's browser, much like Xbox Live.

Microsoft's now accepting app submissions for the Windows Mobile Marketplace, so they can begin the grand process of certification, which should "normally take about 10 business days." Best part for devs is that they can actually monitor their apps' progress.

Fantastic news for current Windows Mobile users: Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft's forthcoming app store, will work on 6.0 and 6.1 handsets as well. When? Still a cryptic "Fall," unfortunately.

Why does the iPhone get its own app roundup every week? W-w-what about the rest of us? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS SMARTPHONE? We should explain.

Just so everyone's clear up front, Microsoft has just come out with a list of twelve things they don't want to see on the Windows Mobile Marketplace. It includes VoIP.

Here's a couple screenshots of the Windows Mobile Marketplace, Windows Mobile's app store, courtesy of a ppcgeeks forum member who accidentally got early access. It looks pretty much like we'd expect, really. [ppcgeeks via WMExperts]

It's been less than a year since Apple launched the iPhone App Store, but now virtually every mobile OS is showcasing its own take on the mobile application storefront. How do they all stack up?

Gadget Mix delved into a fresh Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM and found the inclusion of a "Marketplace" icon there in the honeycomb. Is it Win-Mo's app store, or a more Zune-y integration?