Will I be able to use the free APPA Market account for something else after I apply to Windows Phone 7 App Challenge?

Question

I am a student from Latvia and I'm looking for an opportunity to submit an application to the WP7 Marketplace. The problem is I'm low on financial resources and I can't afford even $40 student account on the APPA Market (Latvia still doesn't have it's own Marketplace, shame on MS).

After some consulting with APPA Mundi Ltd I've found out that there is currently held Windows Phone 7 App Challenge (translated regional version with details), in which you get one free account in APPA Market in order to upload an app. However, to get this account I have to upload a completed app at the main challenge page until December 11, what is impossible for me, my app requires at least two-three more weeks of development.

Then I got an idea - to upload some kind of notepad-clone application, get account on APPA and use it for my normal app later, but I am not sure about a lot of things (due to the lack of useful information on both sites):

• Do I have rights to use APPA Market account for my own needs? - My guess is there shouldn't be any limitations, but I may have left something out of sight.

• How I can be sure that my "notepad" will be accepted, even if all requirements are met? - According to the Terms & Conditions I'll have 0 points on the Judgement Criteria.

• Won't be my account blocked after the challenge final, if I won't have released anything related to it? - I can't spend included virtual money on the "notepad", otherwise the whole operation will be pointless.

• Are there any other less risky options? - I'm not afraid of this, I just don't want to end up loosing the remaining part of week on writing useless application, then on dealing with organizers and getting nothing.

• A little off-topic question - does this mean (challenges, local camps) that Marketplace will be launched in Latvia and other countries soon?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I'm one of the organizers of Latvian WP challenge. It's OK if you submit the latest version of your app by Dec 11. It doesn't have to be final build yet, but enough that we would understand where you're heading with the app.

After submitting your app to the competition, you'll get a free APPA Market account with 55GBP credit that you can use for adding the app to Windows Phone Marketplace. Your ver. 1 must pass certification and arrive in Marketplace by January 18. Hope this helps :)

Please let me know if you have any further questions. Skype: andres.sirel or Twitter @asirel