What percentage of your Windows Phone apps come from...

[Jazmac]

...reviews on WPCentral and other Windows phone specific techblogs, searching the Xbox market or word of mouth? I'll start.

I have had almost 300 apps on my phone at some point and I'm hanging onto about 140 or so now. I would say 80 percent of them came from reading reviews on tech blogs. 8 percent came from searching the market and the rest word of mouth.

 

[rbrunner]

Thought so

8 percent came from searching the market and the rest word of mouth.

Thought so. Marketplace search is terrible, so far it seems to completely ignore the whole app descriptions and use only keywords (with a limit of 5!) and the name of the app. Even if people do use the right keyword to search, if you use a frequent keyword like sms or text like I do for my own NickWrite app, Marketplace just stops to list apps beyond rank 200 or so.

Why they don't install something like a "Bing custom search" for the Marketplace content is beyond me.

Getting a review in some high-traffic place is worth gold...

Ok, end of rant

Anyway, I probably have some more apps than 8% that I found on the Marketplace, but only because I systematically check for almost anything new that appears there.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Almost all of the apps I've installed were those reviewed on the wpcentral blogs or recommended by posters in the wpcentral forums.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[dannejanne]

I just download the ones I need and makes things easier in my everyday life. I'm not an app person.

I have not even gotten the alphabetical list in my appdrawer as I only have around 35-40 apps total counting the preinstalled ones.

I like keeping it clean. I see no use in having hundreds of apps that doesn't really make my life easier in any way.

 

[cgk]

None I use about ten apps regularly and I don't play games, watch videos or follow sports so that eliminates a lot of stuff.

Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express

 

[cckgz4]

Half. The other half probably were essentials or other apps I used on other smartphones. Never used the market suggestions on any platform

 

[scottcraft]

Most of my apps are from tech site reviews and from looking at the featured apps in the marketplace. Sometimes I look for an app to do a certain thing, but as was said earlier, the marketplace search isn't very good.

 

[gapost]

The majority are I have are those apps that are reviewed or noted in a write-up. I often look at the Marketplace for interesting or new apps, but rarely find them. One of the things that really frustrates me is when you look at the Top apps, they combine games and apps and most of the "top" ones are games. They should split them up.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Probably about 20% tech reviews, 80% marketplace search. I don't receive word-of-mouth recommendations.

 

[selfcreation]

hmmm a little from all..

- think Ive tried every single app to get reviewed on this site
- All the apps being put int he app/game Spot lite or talked about on other threads,
- also from random reviews on other sites.

My phone currently has 8Gigs worth of games/apps and that doesn't count for 25% of all apps games ive tried... :straight:

i only use a hand full on a day to day basis doh , but i have tried them all.

 

[jimski]

Currently have 185 active apps/games, with another 80-90 deleted. I would say about 10-15% through reviews/recommendations, 2-3% via Marketplace search and the rest through browsing the "New" category in Marketplace. Before the book tidal wave nearly a year ago, I would scroll through New apps pretty much every night (only 100-150) and look at/download anything interesting. I stopped when I started running into 100 apps a night by the same publisher.

Marketplace has gotten better, but with 250-350 submissions a day, if you miss a day or two, you are sure to miss out on some useful apps. Results of my New searches; I was the first one to download SkyWallet, and one of the very first to download ...i'm A WP7. Have found many other gems looking for apps this way.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

 

[Squatting Hen]

Almost all of mine are from reviews. Of course I searched for the official ones I already knew or though would be out there.

The market place search is pretty bad, with the "related" apps being even worse. I am no longer going to search for apps, especially now that there is so much fluff (I didn't say junk) out there it is even more difficult to find something worth installing.

The tech sites and WP Central pretty much hit the good ones anyway.

 

[Reflexx]

When I first got Windows Phone, most of my apps came from a Marketplace search. I loaded up on several and tried them out to see which ones I wanted to stick with. So at that point, I'd say 90% came from search.

After I got most of my bases covered, almost everything else has been through reviews or recommendations. So now, it's something like 60% reviews, 25% recommendations, 15% search.

 

[HeyCori]

I'm not much of an app man either. I only have about 50 apps and I don't look browse the marketplace unless there's a specific utility that I need. When I do need to find an app then I search via the marketplace. I used to search via Zune but browsing was inconvenient. That and the marketplace is gone from Zune, lol.

 

[Corepc]

I went app crazy when I first got my phone and before I sent it in for repair, since, I have gotten it back, I am only sticking to apps that I really need, or could be useful.

WpCentral - most of apps that I have gotten recently I picked up after being reviewed by WpCentral.

The Free Apps when they are advertised on WpCentral cannot pass up..Gleek, I am WP7Extras, GmapsPro, TurboCamera, to name a few..

 

[vp710]

I've found the majority of the apps on my phone just browsing the marketplace. I know what I want and it's easy to find. I've used both the "app highlights" and "marketplace deals" apps as well as "appflow app discovery" to discover anything I may not be aware of.

Of course, reviews on here always pick my interest.

 

[bpgui]

Almost all of my non-game apps, I found through reviews here and elsewhere, except of course of the big name apps I already knew about (Kindle, etc.).

Of my game apps, it is probably 50-50 reviews and marketplace search.

I would agree that the marketplace needs a better search function. It is too hard to find what you are looking for unless you know the exact name.

 

[cedarlog]

nothing better than going random to the marketplace and download
besides i like to give everyone a chance

 

[snowmutt]

Interesting question. I think every app I have is from searching the marketplace, WP Central, WP Power User, or my Wife finding it first on her Titan. I had never really thought of it before.

And yes, the Marketplace search is a hot mess. I am still looking for a decent lunar calendar, and I found a couple of other recommendations from here when the search gave me diddly-squat.

 

[Jazmac]

Ok, WPCentral. I'm jonesing for a new app. Hurry back from the conference. lol.