Any alternatives to windows store?

[Mr G Reaper]

I cant find any but hoping thier may be?

The issue im having at the moment is im working on my app a lot and as i fix bugs i push out an update (you know like good devs should do lol) only its taking microsoft longer and longer to certify them

over 24 hours ago i released my latest update for the windows version of my mod (still stuck at "Security tests" which are only ment to take 3 hours!) and the phone version of my app (anyones guess as to the stage that one is on)

I know on android their are markets galore and ways to publish your own setup file for them, is there anything like that on windows?

 

[astondg]

For testing on developer unlocked phones you can use the SDK tools to manually install the app package.

Other than that I think the answer is no.

Microsoft has made changes over the last 2 years to streamline the app submission and update process which has helped generally but I'm not sure why your app updates are taking so long.

My first app, about a year ago, took around 32hrs to hit the store but I had a brand new app published recently in about 1hr and updates usually go through in a similar time these days.

 

[Mr G Reaper]

For testing on developer unlocked phones you can use the SDK tools to manually install the app package.

Other than that I think the answer is no.

Microsoft has made changes over the last 2 years to streamline the app submission and update process which has helped generally but I'm not sure why your app updates are taking so long.

My first app, about a year ago, took around 32hrs to hit the store but I had a brand new app published recently in about 1hr and updates usually go through in a similar time these days.

hmmm strange wonder why mine are taking so long.

I do ofcourse use the sdk to test on my phone while developing, would never release an update with out testing it.
annoying microsoft have the monopoly on the store front seems im at their mercy. ill give it till tomorrow and i not available will cancel and resubmit, in the mean time i have emailed them about it, but doubt i will get a response, im just a hobby developer after all.

 

[GadgetTron]

annoying microsoft have the monopoly on the store front seems im at their mercy.

I understand that waiting is frustrating, but the app store is designed with the purpose of the entire ecosystem in mind (much like apple). Microsoft wants a smooth experience for the end user, where as Google doesn't care with Android as long as their ads are shown and user activity can be monetized.

 

[Mr G Reaper]

I understand that waiting is frustrating, but the app store is designed with the purpose of the entire ecosystem in mind (much like apple). Microsoft wants a smooth experience for the end user, where as Google doesn't care with Android as long as their ads are shown and user activity can be monetized.

Microsoft must hate me, i dont run adverts and my apps are free (thier is a donate button though....think it may be broken)


My windows phone version just passed certification and is now updated (store is showing the new screenshots etc too)

the windows store version is still in that 3 hour max security test stage, a bit of research shows this does indeed happen at times and can take a few days to resolve itself, i feel a bit better knowing that but its annoying knowing i sacrificed my spare time and a lot of sleep to ensure i got the updated version sorted out and uploaded (and thoughrly tested on my local machine) , only for microsoft to say woah thier lad we need to test this first, ok now 1 byte 2 byte 3 byte 4 byte..ummmm 1 byte 2 byte 3 byte...oh shoot ...1 byte (ok ok i know they dont test each byte just feels like it)