You might ask what took them so long Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) may be joining Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) in the mobile “apps store” market, according to CNET. This isn’t usually enough to confirm anything, but a job posting spotted by Istartedsomething.com says Microsoft is getting ready to launch a store called “Skymarket” this fall for the Windows Mobile platform. Join the crowd, following Apple, Google’s Android and even T-Mobile USA. The thing is, if stacked up against the iPhone App store, Microsoft will clearly win hands-down. That’s because there are already 18,000 applications built for the platform, compared to the iPhone, which has only about 2,000. The problem is that people typically don’t know where to find the apps, and that will continue to be a problem if Microsoft doesn’t make it as accessible as the App store, or sets up an easy to understand business arrangement for developers.

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The ad, which was posted Sunday on Computerjob.com, calls for a Skymarket senior product manager. The person will head a team that will “drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile. Key responsibilities include: defining the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace “the place to be” for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications. A Microsoft spokesperson didn’t return calls to Cnet.