Microsoft has released a set of tools and samples that now makes it a good bit easier to get users Windows Live data from Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger for smartphone applications, including Android apps. Developers will only need to enter the application name and language used, and then they will receive a client ID and secret token. These are then used in your application to allow the user to sign in via the web, with no back-end needed for this from the developers. Microsoft provides a working sample to view a user's SkyDrive photos, with more examples to follow.
Microsoft, as much as anyone, understands the open platform model. It's been good to them over the years, and it's nice to see simple and effective methods to access user account data across mobile platforms. I hope some developers out there with the "next great idea" for a Windows Live app takes advantage of them. Drop us a line if that sounds like you!
Source: Windows Live team blog
