1000 apps, but do we need them? 
The striking thing about Windows Phone 7 is the sleek, clean interface which lives up to the marketing slogan ‘glance and go’.
Since using my Windows Phone 7 device, I have only downloaded ‘useful’ apps. Compare that to my iPhone 3GS which within weeks was packed with free apps, free wallpapers, free games… It is part of the very design of Windows Phone 7 that it is minimalist – the home page tiles encourage you to keep it simple, and offer you the useful info that you would have to delve into multiple apps to find with an iPhone or Android device.
Impressive
Windows Phone 7 confessed to being the underdog, and seemed very concerned about the lack of apps in their Marketplace. Reaching 1000 within a couple of weeks of launch is impressive, all be it considerably less than the 100,000 Android apps, and 280,000 iPhone apps.
Quality over Quantity
The main focus for Microsoft, however hasn’t been to quickly reach and surpass the number of apps available to the other platforms. You can tell by their relationship with developers that free apps are not encouraged – with the developer licence charging extra per app if a developer wants to distribute more than 5 free apps.
Microsoft are keeping to the new philosophy of Windows Phone 7, ‘easier and faster to use’ by even trying to keep their Marketplace free from junk.
Developers Dream
The 1000 apps already available is a good indicator of the ease of development for Windows Phone 7. App developers find it much, much, quicker to develop for than Android or iOS, meaning that there should soon be all the apps you need.
Why have freebies when you can have quality?
What really took off with iPhone and Android apps was the availability of simple, easy to learn games, which you could download in minutes to while away any spare time.
Whilst I don’t doubt that there will be similar games available on Windows Phone 7, with the xBox integration there will be more of a temptation to get a ‘decent’ game instead – to spend your time playing against friends, or just playing a game with a bit more substance.
Trailing behind or a trail blazer?
Windows Phone 7 may be losing the app numbers game, but are apps dying out? We don’t consider our computer inferior as it will only play CDs and not tapes, or the new games console that won’t play the previous versions. The game is changing. Is Windows Phone 7 the winner? |
