Mobile applications is big business and Microsoft wants some of that and so is recruiting mobile app developers for the forthcoming Windows Mobile Marketplace For Mobile, and the word is they are targeting developers who have experienced problems with Apple’s iPhone app approval process reports crn.com.

Microsoft has launched their Race To Market Challenge contest whereby a developer can deliver their applications to an “app store” that looks very similar to the iTunes App Store. The cartoon promo for Race To Market Challenge has a voiceover that kind of digs at Apple.

Windows Mobile Marketplace For Mobile launches when Windows Mobile 6.5 enabled mobile phone hit stores in the fall, and Microsoft believes they can out beat the iTunes App Store by delivering clearer guidelines for developers to submit their apps.