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Hello all friendly Windows Mobile Developers!

I have a simple question: Can I distribute my Windows Mobile App outside of the Marketplace?

If so, how is this done? Can I from my phone send an app, I have developed my self, to another person in the same room?

I am aiming for Windows Mobile version 6.5, though if any one has some input on this I would be grateful.

Thanks in advance!

ABeanSits
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    Unlike some other mobile platforms I could name, Windows Mobile has (almost) all the flexibility of a desktop computer. You just upload the CAB on a Web server, people download and install. But watch for the privileged APIs. On some devices they won't be available to unsigned apps. Signing is provided by the Marketplace, or by alternative certification programs which are even more expensive. – Seva Alekseyev Jan 11 '10 at 16:26

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Yes.

You can just make a CAB file (which is how mobile applications are deployed) by creating a mobile app deployment project in Visual Studio. This link describes that: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zcebx8f8.aspx

Then, you can deploy the output of that project. One popular way to do this is to create a desktop installation project which installs the CAB file to the device. This link describes how to do that with a custom action for an installer project again using Visual Studio: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb158529.aspx

codekaizen
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    If you make a desktop application, PLEASE don't make it the only way to install your application. More and more Windows Mobile users install CAB files directly on their phone (either by browser or by copying from the PC) - I stopped using ActiveSync on mine rather quickly once I found a better backup solution. – Jess Jan 11 '10 at 16:28
  • Indeed. ActiveSync is widely despised. Now almost every Windows Mobile device is properly networked, CAB is far more convenient. – bobince Jan 11 '10 at 17:04
  • As true as that is, you'd be surprised at the number of legacy WinMo devices where this is not true. – codekaizen Jan 11 '10 at 17:07
  • Thanks a lot codekaizen for your extremely quick answer! Have a nice day. – ABeanSits Jan 12 '10 at 08:03