frustration with apps, or lack there of...

[bear_lx]

im looking for some positive reinforcement here... im getting tired of reading posts like on the front page of wpcentral, about developers not planning on porting over to wp7 platform, and no plans to in the future. why?!?!?!? dont get me wrong, there are some fantasctic xbox live apps being made, but still missing key apps that by now, should have been ported over?

i'm going to list a few; NFL, blockbuster, zynga apps (i.e. - words with friends and many more) a default youtube player that streams HD, not 3rd party apps, pandora, vlingo, skype which microsoft bought! 5/3 bank app ( i bank and work here, and app is on ios, android, and blackberry for crying out loud)

there are so many others, it has been over 2 years now, and lots of improvement but still lacking key features and apps... whats taking so long? does this have any one else concerned? because all we keep hearing is , :"keep waiting, they will come" but how much longer? what if it takes too long, and they missed their chance?

i love the UI and came back from ios, but i gotta tell ya..... i miss some of my favorite apps, that i feel, should have been ported over by now.

 

[dtboos]

The app thing is a process, and its accelerating faster and faster since the release of Mango especially. Honestly prior to Mango this was a testbed, or a beta release, of which I was happy to partake.

Prior to Mango (released last Sept), developers had barely any API access and were limited on what they could create. So the app store has only really started to grow since then, and its continuing to grow faster and faster. I am seeing more companies making apps now so it is moving in positive directions. I am seeing more companies list their apps as to include Windows Phone lately which is good.

It will continue to get better as marketshare grows, and as MS & Nokia continue to attract developers and companies to the platform. The big kicker will be towards Apollo & Windows 8 because there isn't a developer on Earth with more than 3 brain cells that will miss out on a piece of that huge pie. Apollo is not only bringing integration with Windows 8 but will have many additional features and API support for developers.

This is the big year for MS & Nokia both. Microsoft is banking HUGE on their mobile platform, and the integration/consolidation of their platform. Windows 8 is coming out later this year, Apollo (wp8), and Nokia is just starting to rollout their huge worldwide push of the platform. Everything prior to this year was preparation, and it takes a little patience when getting into a new platform.

As things gain traction over the next months, you will continue to see more apps being created, and more developers taking it seriously. I can tell you that most serious developers already have some sort of plan to create something for Windows Phone even if they haven't done so already because they know the platform will be growing, they know it has huge support from MS & Nokia, and they know it will be sold hand in hand with Windows 8 and has huge money making potential.

 

[welsbloke]

Like people developers have this wait and see mentality, we often see people say they waiting for Appolo or this new graphics card or chip when in reality waiting rarely helps, means you miss out on the now and inevitably end up waiting for the next big thing.

Windows 8 should prove an irresistable lure for those on the fence but even without those fence sitters I think most categories are catered for even if some of them are 3rd party.

 

[based_graham]

Think about it this way. Windows Phone has 1.5% marketshare, it doesn't allow native code access and requires a different design and it currently has 60 000 apps thats pretty impressive. Once marketshare improves and native code access allowed your going to see another big jump.

Some devs are actually making more money in Windows Phone platform because other ecosystems are flooded with the same type of apps.

I bet next week they will annouce more apps hopefully Instagram and Skype. If you plan to take your startup to the big leagues your app needs to be on all platforms.

 

[selfcreation]

well sadly developers are ether Ignorant or stupid. ( not all of them of course )


so honestly we probably gona need to wait till WP OS starts getting market shares and star to attract more and more DEV.

I just wish DEV realize that because WP OS is has a small market the apps on WP has a WAAAY higher chance of being Downloaded!! ( this was proved and tested )

DEV on WP make more $$ then Dev on IOS and Android!!! IOS 600,000+ Apps , good luck having some one download yours!!

on WP ill guaranty people will buy/download it ( if its good )

i guess Book Smart DEVS are not street smart sad really. OR they simply dont like making $$ ( specially with ALL the TOOLS MS give to DEVS to make the port EASY and not consume to much time. )

 

[jake69]

Apps count is so overrated. I could careless about apps count as long as they have the app I need. Like Chase & Linkedin....been waiting forever.

 

[bear_lx]

i know i know, but it seems a little rudundant in that last year, it was the same thing, except it was mango. "once mango rolls out we wil start to see a lot more apps" and given it is growing, but i am floored as to why some of the major developers havent ported anything over yet. patience is a virtue, and microsoft is testing us!

one other point, i know our apps are growing at a faster rate than ios and android, but one thing to consider is there apps are growing faster too now... things are more app based now than they were 4 years ago so thats a given...

love the whole platform and i am loyal, but sometimes negative reading, rumors, and marketshare bring me down...

 

[bear_lx]

Apps count is so overrated. I could careless about apps count as long as they have the app I need. Like Chase & Linkedin....been waiting forever.

i dont care about app copunt either, with 200,000 plus apps of course there is going to be a lot of crap apps... but i do care about quality apps being made for other platforms but not ours, specifically some of the ones i listed

 

[jfa1]

Well you cant hold a gun to the head of any developer and force them to develop for WP devices thety have to see what the future is going to be like and figure out for themselves that they can make the $$.

 

[Big Supes]

The best thing we can do is club together as team to put the pressure on those developers who are being lazy. Being honest, I doubt many developers will pay much attention until they notice a strong demand for their app.

 

[scield]

It does take a lot of time for an app store to populate. WP7 has been out for a little over year and is still growing. I was with Android at the start (10/08 with my G1) and it took well over a year, close to two years for iOS apps to come in and the app store filled with quality stuff. There are a few apps I would like to see but I know they're coming sooner or later.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

 

[scottcraft]

It's like the proverbial two-edged sword: some people won't switch to the platform due to the lack of apps and the apps won't come until the platform gets big enough. With that said I think WP has done very well with apps considering the small market share it currently occupies.

 

[feedmylittletroll]

I am actually shocked on the quality of apps in the marketplace. A lot of them are really high quality. The games especially are really good. I am addicted to Snowball Assault

 

[Kahuna Cowboy]

It's going to be this way until Windows Phone gains a descent market share, the sub 2% of the market the platform currently has has is just not enough to get the bigger devs to port their apps over.

It's like a catch 22, the lack of quality large name apps holds the platform back from more success, and that won't change until the WP platform enjoys more success.

While some will tout the 60k apps, the simple fact is the big name apps people actually care about are still lacking badly.

 

[Eirenarch]

Recently I made a research for an app I want to make (starting with WP and if I ever manage to ship port to Android then iOS). WP at the moment has no real apps like this. There are plenty of Android apps that do similar things to what I want to do but they are so bad... they look like homework. When I checked the apple app store I was blown away. There were a couple of apps that did almost the exact thing I plan on implementing and they have implemented ideas that I planned for much later versions of the app. I now have great respect for the apps for iOS and growing disrespect for the Android situation (meaning I'd rather not have an app than have 20 crappy apps).

P.S. I will not share the apps I researched because I don't want somebody to make the app I plan and steal my millions

 

[Me2]

Latest example is Barclays' Pingit.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...ay-mobile-service-shocks-Barclays-rivals.html

That's not about making money for the developers, but getting adopted by as many Barclays' customers as possible in a high profile launch (20000 downloads in 2 days, other banks to follow soon).

So why do they only cater for iOS, Android and Blackberry? Something seriously wrong with Microsoft's marketing and strategy (and hopes of survival) if such major players are still seeing Windows Phone as irrelevant and leaving its users out in the cold.