As part of all the excitement surrounding the Windows Mobile 6.5 unveiling, Microsoft has laid out its plan for an online store to sell applications for the platform, ala Apple's App Store or the Android Market. When we first heard about this plan last month, it was tentatively called SkyMarket, but Microsoft has decided to to go with "Windows Marketplace for Mobile" for its official reveal.

SkyMarket was supposed to be exclusively for access by mobile devices, but the final Windows Marketplace will be accessible from your PC, as well. It looks like all your purchases will be tied to your devices through your Windows Live ID, for later getting software you buy while at your PC transferred on to your smartphone.

The Marketplace will be available as part of the default Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone installation, which should give developers featured on it a nice amount of exposure. Considering there are already tens of thousands of Windows Mobile applications in existence, Microsoft is being smart and not creating an elaborate approval process as Apple does with the App Store. Going over all those programs with a fine-toothed comb, even if just a fraction are submitted as potential Windows Marketplace apps, would take ages. Microsoft has said that it will only give apps "a simple security and compatibility check", hopefully withholding the kind of censorship we've seen from Apple.

In addition to these new paid downloads, Windows Mobile 6.5 users will gain access to Microsoft's My Phone service, a web-based system for keeping all your data in sync. It will automate contact sharing between devices and let you perform backups to keep your files safe. You'll also be able to use the web interface to easily manage files like photos that you've uploaded from your phone. Right now it's invitation-only, but that should change quickly as Windows Mobile 6.5 rolls out.

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