Microsoft attempts to poach iPhone developers

Microsoft has never been particularly realistic in its position in the current smartphone wars, with lots of talk about the many Windows Mobile powered devices out there and its future plans to take on the iPhone and BlackBerry but without much in the way of real evidence.

Still, its faith in its own product is as strong as ever, and that's got to be some encouragement for mobile game developers. Which Microsoft is apparently banking on, as it's made a big effort to help programmers figure out a conversion process from iPhone to WinMo.

Using a port of Gripwire's Amplitude as an example, a technical guide has been compiled to document the porting process, while offering advice on using VisualStudio and MSDN to bridge some of the compatibility gaps.

Windows Mobile 6 is still very much on the horizon, and Microsoft could yet find itself losing more market share and developer interest to another contender - the ZuneHD.

While it's still a Microsoft system, and won't feature any mobile network connectivity, the similarity to the iPod touch is likely to be far more appealing to iPhone developers than the business-centric Windows Mobile. And it's likely to appear much sooner than 6.5.