Millennial makes move to Windows Phone 7 with new SDK

Reports might focus on the number of apps to hit a platform, but support from ad networks can prove just as important.

Crudely speaking, it's a sign that the userbase is big enough to warrant such support in the first place.

News that Millennial Media – which claims to reach 80 percent of mobile consumers in the US – has released an SDK for Windows Phone 7, then, is undoubtedly a good move for Microsoft.

Naturally, however, it's the developers looking to implement rich ads into their titles that Millennial claims will be the real winners.

Winning with Windows

"As a company that thrives on helping developers monetise their applications across platforms, we have been excited for this platform since Microsoft started talking about their new operating system," said head of product development Steve McCord on Millennial's blog.

"Although we have been providing monetisation services for current Windows Mobile developers, we have now extended a toolkit for developers to much more easily integrate ads into their applications, while providing rich and engaging experiences to the advertisers across all Windows Phone 7 Applications."

McCord claims insight gained from the SDK's beta has improved its approach, giving Windows Phone 7 developers the same level of set up those on iOS and Android already enjoy.

As such, on board is full support for Silverlight and XNA SDK – including both full rich media support and interstitial support for Silverlight apps – and interactive ad units for agencies.

The new Windows Phone 7 SDK can be downloaded by developers signed up to Millennial from the firm's community website.