The Windows Phone App Gap--Reality Versus Perception

[trainplane]

I have both a Nexus 5 and Lumia 920 and an iPad. So I use all three mobile OSes though only WP8 and Android as a phone. And so far I don't see much of an app gap in the real world. Bloggers and 'journalists' talk about the app gap but have they really used these OSes in the real world?

So far, on Windows Phone, I've missed a few banking apps, a meetup app, a few other minor apps I would use once a month. But guess what? The mobile website versions are fine.

On Android, I miss a good offline navigation app. I use gps all the time and Navfree is very poor compared to Here drive. If I had to choose between missing a few banking apps and such vs a good offline navigation app, I choose the navigation app. Windows also has Mixx Radio with free offline mixes. Not sure Android or iOS has anything like this.

So Windows has more apps that I actually use on a daily basis. I welcome other people's real world experience who actually use multiple mobile OSes.

 

[anon(7900571)]

I want big games on windows phone , but as of now I use iPad for that
Apps that I use are WhatsApp , Skype , native email , calculator , calendar , messaging , internet explorer , some casual games , bing news , weather , health and fitness , 6tag. That's it. Windows phone has all the apps that I want from a smartphone :smile:

 

[RavenSword]

I want big games on windows phone , but as of now I use iPad for that
Apps that I use are WhatsApp , Skype , native email , calculator , calendar , messaging , internet explorer , some casual games , bing news , weather , health and fitness , 6tag. That's it. Windows phone has all the apps that I want from a smartphone :smile:

Yeah, looking it over most apps I use on iphone have a WP equivalent.

 

[Old_Cus]

I've always said that what sometimes irritates me is how Windows Phone comes short on the "specialty" apps. I have Comcast and it would nice to have Comcast apps or HBO Go. My local TV news stations all have apps but they all are for iphone and android only. It's the same with my credit union and other local businesses I use. Now as stated above in most of those cases I can go to my internet browser to access some of these services but having an app would be faster and easier.

None of this has kept me away from Windows Phone or tempted me to switch. I love this OS but it would have been nice to have had a Girl Scout cookie app so I could find cookies instead of asking a friend to check on her Iphone.

 

[fatclue_98]

The one app I can't do without is a good scan-to-pdf app. I have one on my iPad and it's serviceable, the ones for Android are a joke and Handyscan is on par with the iOS offerings. Believe it or not the best one, hands down, is MobiScan for Windows Mobile. Oh and let's not forget Jetcet for WM, the best printing app ever. As for consumer-based apps, I think WP is on a level playing field with the rest. Quality trumps quantity.

 

[iAdrian23]

Do we have Clash of Clans? Nop...
QuizUp? No
Great FB app? Nop
Regional apps? lol...

 

[AUCLABruin]

Like others before me have said, there are big names missing from WP. If people have those top applications, the number of apps would not be an issue. No one is dying for a million apps, but not having a critical or much-used app can easily led to a person skipping over Windows Phone. I'm still waiting on BBC News, but other than that there are no true apps that I want WP to have this very moment.

 

[trainplane]

Do we have Clash of Clans? Nop...
QuizUp? No
Great FB app? Nop
Regional apps? lol...

If you're a serious mobile gamer, get the phone with the games you want. Maybe it's not Windows Phone.

As for the rest, if you're going to do a list war, back it up with how often you use these apps and whether the website/alternative app can do the things you need to do. Like I said, I miss some banking apps but the websites are fine for the once a month I bank on the phone. Otherwise you're just adding to the noise. We want real and honest discussion here. Day to day use. Not some hipster 'journalist' tagline--'Windoze Fone has no appz'. Is that okay?

 

[vormison]

Been with WP since the beginning. Even I ended up getting an Android to fill the void. I am not even a heavy app user but there are certain apps that I really like to use. Certain banking apps, Bandcamp, and too many games to name.

 

[fatclue_98]

If you're a serious mobile gamer, get the phone with the games you want. Maybe it's not Windows Phone.

As for the rest, if you're going to do a list war, back it up with how often you use these apps and whether the website/alternative app can do the things you need to do. Like I said, I miss some banking apps but the websites are fine for the once a month I bank on the phone. Otherwise you're just adding to the noise. We want real and honest discussion here. Day to day use. Not some hipster 'journalist' tagline--'Windoze Fone has no appz'. Is that okay?

When smartphones morphed into consumer-centric devices is when "apps" took on a life of their own. When the smartphone world was Palm Treos, BlackBerries and WM iPaqs, apps were about productivity, financial and utilities. Many smartphones of the mid 2000s didn't even have cameras because companies didn't allow them, so there wasn't a need for Instagram and such. If it weren't for HP or Brother's apps, there would be no printing apps for Windows Phone other than cloud printing. To this day, there are more enterprise-based apps available for Windows Mobile than for WP. That is wrong. Microsoft is in a unique situation to lure the corporate world and they're surrendering their position to iOS. VPN is a huge addition on 8.1 and it barely gets any press as compared to the notifications. With the recent growth of the platform there should be an earnest attempt at capturing a market that has been twisting in the wind since the BB days. Apps for pros would go a long way to cement the brand.

 

[TonyDedrick]

The other issue is feature parity. It sucks having the app, but lacking features standard on other platforms.

Personally, the only app I wish for is an app for my bank. The mobile site was fine til it was modified in some manner that made using a Windows Phone impossible to use the site.

 

[rodan01]

The hardest apps to get are small apps, niche apps, local apps, apps that are used by small groups. Those kind of apps require a big user base to became viable because only a small share of the users are interested in them. The only fast solution for this problem is compatibility with Android apps, I hope MS is working on this for Windows 9.

 

[thatotherdude24]

The one app I can't do without is a good scan-to-pdf app. I have one on my iPad and it's serviceable, the ones for Android are a joke and Handyscan is on par with the iOS offerings. Believe it or not the best one, hands down, is MobiScan for Windows Mobile. Oh and let's not forget Jetcet for WM, the best printing app ever. As for consumer-based apps, I think WP is on a level playing field with the rest. Quality trumps quantity.

I mean no sarcasm in this but what do you use a scan to pdf app for?

 

[Shawn Magm]

I need Google Voice. So far, Metrotalk has been stellar, but come May, it will be no more.

Others that are nice to have in Android, but not deal breakers to have in WP8 are Chrome to phone, pushbullet, Flipboard (hopefully coming soon).

Tasker is a great Android app. No equivalent in WP8. Another app that would be nice is some type of trusted device app like that on the Motorola phones to keep the phone unlocked so long as a bluetooth device is connected.

 

[Guytronic]

This user sees no app gap.
Tired argument for the people who use the WP daily with few to no complaints.

When\If the appstore reaches one million people will rejoice then complain about all the useless crap in the store.
Human nature commands that no one will ever be satisfied in any situation.
Complaining is what drives us :straight:

 

[hopmedic]

And they'll also complain that a million apps isn't enough because Android has three million. :straight:

 

[Sam_Smith]

I was a 3 generation iPhone person, switched to an HTC 8X which was a nice phone, but then switched to a Lumia 1020, for a Windows Phone Nokia is the better choice for me, the HERE Drive+, and the Nokia Exclusive apps/features are must haves, the only app I kind of missed was the Google Voice, but then I just go to the website and do my thing there, same with banking apps, there isn't a website that I tried to use on Windows Phone that I could not navigate easily, and I prefer using websites vs apps, the experience is consistent and I don't have to waste time trying to figure out what functions the app have or in most cases don't have. Also if a service/app is not available on all platforms I will not use it period. I rarely use public transit but when I do HERE Transit makes life easier, especially when I travel to different cities.

 

[mariusfilip]

i'd like the free Facebook Messenger Wi-Fi calling ...as for the Fb app i use the Beta version, and i think that it's getting better and better

 

[mariusfilip]

IMHO i think most important apps are there, but as other users have said,there are misiing features in available apps like Whatsup(ex. sending audio...would be very useful for me), Fb app but it's getiing 'faster' ) really meaning it....and...consider me a troll but i'd really like this feature in WP 8.1 Facebook Messenger updated to v4.0, brings free Wi-Fi calling | Android Central :winktongue:

 

[unnatixlr8]

I use default email, cal, calc, WhatsApp, messenger, endomondo, vieather, kindle, crunchyroll and instagram.

I had side loaded the official YouTube app by Microsoft. Which works perfectly.
I am just waiting for a good fb app and flipboard.

So for me, nothing is really missing. Actually there's lot to come with 8.1 isn't it.