[dkediger]

And regarding Win 8 uptake....it took about 2 years and 2 service packs for the dearly departed XP to gain momentum in the enterprise.

[RavenSword]

So this us a question I know have: given that WP is really only less than 4 years old, how has growth and advancement rate been? On par or better than the competition? And do we think app developers are going to come on board even though they haven't for about 4 years? Reason km asking is that I want to use WP as my daily, but I feel like I'll be putting alot if faith jn devs coming on board when they haven't thus far.

[Cleavitt76]

I can't remember the most recent Windows Phone Store app count, but I think it's around 200,000. It took iOS about 2 years to reach that point and it took Android about 3 years to reach that point. It has taken Windows Phone 4 years so the growth rate is not as high. Personally, I don't put a lot of emphasis on app counts, but at the same time there isn't any easy way to compare either.

One thing you have to consider is that iOS got a faster start because it had no competition in the consumer oriented smart phone market. Most smart phones at that time were targeted at business professionals that wanted to be connected to work all the time. Android was really slow for the first couple of years and then they shot up. Android was able to compete in other markets because iOS was exclusive to AT&T during that time. So effectively, Android had no competition on the non-AT&T carriers. Windows Phone entered that market after there was competition. The only point I'm trying to make is that it will be hard to compare or predict growth rates to iOS and Android since the situation is very different now. Windows Phone has been trending upwards consistently though so I expect the app situation to get better not worse.

I think the question for you is "do you have the apps you need now on Windows Phone and are they good enough to fill your needs?" If the answer is yes, then you should be fine with Windows Phone as it's only going to get better from here. If the answer is no, then I would go back to whatever works for you and re-visit Windows Phone when it's time for your next upgrade.

[Jas00555]

I can't remember the most recent Windows Phone Store app count, but I think it's around 200,000. It took iOS about 2 years to reach that point and it took Android about 3 years to reach that point. It has taken Windows Phone 4 years so the growth rate is not as high. Personally, I don't put a lot of emphasis on app counts, but at the same time there isn't any easy way to compare either.

One thing you have to consider is that iOS got a faster start because it had no competition in the consumer oriented smart phone market. Most smart phones at that time were targeted at business professionals that wanted to be connected to work all the time. Android was really slow for the first couple of years and then they shot up. Android was able to compete in other markets because iOS was exclusive to AT&T during that time. So effectively, Android had no competition on the non-AT&T carriers. Windows Phone entered that market after there was competition. The only point I'm trying to make is that it will be hard to compare or predict growth rates to iOS and Android since the situation is very different now. Windows Phone has been trending upwards consistently though so I expect the app situation to get better not worse.

I think the question for you is "do you have the apps you need now on Windows Phone and are they good enough to fill your needs?" If the answer is yes, then you should be fine with Windows Phone as it's only going to get better from here. If the answer is no, then I would go back to whatever works for you and re-visit Windows Phone when it's time for your next upgrade.

275,000 on the phone
125,000 on computers

Also, app numbers mean jack. Blackberry has almost as much as we do, yet 50,000 of them are literally garbage from the same developer.

[sinime]

275,000 on the phone
125,000 on computers

Also, app numbers mean jack. Blackberry has almost as much as we do, yet 50,000 of them are literally garbage from the same developer.

Not to mention that, and I don't remember if I saw it on android or iOS, there were 4 - 6 versions of the Tapatalk app from the same dev... Only difference being that each one was a different theme color and maybe one was a free trial. I'm not saying that is true for every app out there, but app count numbers get skewed when dev's do that crap, vs. 1 app with a free trial and in-app purchased themes. Sure, it happens on WP too, I just don't notice it as much.

[Cleavitt76]

275,000 on the phone
125,000 on computers

Also, app numbers mean jack. Blackberry has almost as much as we do, yet 50,000 of them are literally garbage from the same developer.

That is better than I thought. The trend still doesn't change too much though...

iOS = ~2.5 years.
Android = ~3.3 years (Google Play Store)
Windows Phone = ~4 years.

I agree though. The app counts are really pretty meaningless. iOS and Android have just had more time to collect garbage and abandoned/test apps. I guess the app counts do imply a level of developer activity, but it's not a good measure of app quality or number of useful apps.