Windows Phone 8 Software Development Tools Only Going Out to Select Developers

Microsoft is gearing up for the release of the Windows Phone 8 software development kit (SDK) prior to the OS's official release, but for the time being, it's for VIPs only.

Windows Marketplace chief Todd Brix said in a blog post on Wednesday that Microsoft has begun accepting requests for the SDK, but that only "developers of our most-downloaded apps" will get in early. Everyone else, unfortunately, will have to wait until the official launch of Windows Phone 8 to get access to the SDK, a measure being taken in an effort to keep some of the OS's unannounced features a secret.

This meshes with Microsoft's behavior at its recent event with Nokia to show off the Lumia 920 and 820, at which members of the media were not allowed to handle the handsets themselves, a restriction meant to prevent them from finding any new features of Windows Phone 8 on their own.

"We recognize that this is a different approach to delivering tools than we've taken in the past," said Brix in his post. "Our goal is to generate as much Windows Phone 8 excitement as possible to attract new customers when phones go on sale."

Source: Windows Phone Developer Blog