Microsoft is getting ready to make a big push in mobile but it obviously isn’t going to have very many apps at the time of launch. Nowhere near Apple’s 225,000, nowhere near Android’s 65,000. So they’re paying people to play with them.

The company is providing financial incentives ranging from free tools and test handsets to funds for software development and marketing, said Todd Brix, a senior director at Microsoft who works with app developers. In some cases, Microsoft is providing revenue guarantees, and will make up the difference if apps don’t sell as well as expected, he said.

(via @jrothmanshore on Twitter)