Windows 8 First Apps Contest for the Windows Store

Microsoft is expected to launch Windows 8 apps store by February next year. The First Apps contest will select eight winning apps to be the very first apps in the Windows Store when it opens.The winning developers will also get some prizes:

• A Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC from the BUILD conference
• One year of Windows Azure
• A two-year subscription to the Store

Submissions are due by Sunday, January 8 at 11:59pm PST.You'll need a Windows Live ID to sign in to the contest site and submit your app. You'll also need the Windows 8 Developer Preview with developer tools in order to start building your app.

The judges are:

• Jensen Harris, Director of Program Management, Windows User Experience
• Antoine Leblond, Senior Vice President, Windows Web Services
• Jason Zander, Corporate Vice President, Visual Studio

The judges will be evaluating apps based on how well they embrace the Metro style principles, as outlined at BUILD. Great Metro style apps adapt to a variety of form factors and screen resolutions, so judges will be evaluating each app on both a Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC (1376x768 resolution) and a laptop (1920x1080 resolution).

Click here to find out more.