The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace upload dialog developers will see when submitting their apps.

What, you say--there are already some 1,400 applications available on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Well, yes there are. But up until now, not just anyone who wanted to put their app up for sale or free download could submit.

That's no longer the case, as Microsoft has opened up the app submission process for any developer who has registered to publish apps on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

The last-minute opening might see a little odd to outsiders considering Windows Phone 7 hardware is set to launch on Monday of next week in North America, and has already been available in Europe, Australia and Singapore since late-October. But prior to this move, Microsoft had opened up submissions to its preferred partners, as well as letting in chunks of developers. With this change, anyone can now submit their application, and get it up on the store in what Microsoft says is 3-5 business days, assuming it passes Microsoft's certification and content guidelines (pdf warning).

Microsoft says it has put extra resources into getting some of these last-minute submissions through its testing and certification process in time for Monday's launch.