The app gap will close. MSFT living up to its promise.

[drachen23]

No the app gap will not close because the startup mobile developers target iOS exclusive 80% of the time, Android the other 20%. Windows OSes are literally frozen out for various reasons(poor APIs, low user base, hatred towards MS).

This is fairly on-track. iOS gets all the best new apps because its user base has all the early-adopters and cool-kids. Android has numbers, but they don't include the movers and shakers. When my workplace (a major cultural institution) builds out apps, they tend to be for iOS only with Android as a "phase II" if ever. Our core audience is iPhone users with a tiny minority of Android users. Windows Phone isn't on our radar. I love WP as a platform and I enjoy writing apps for it, but it doesn't make sense for us to spend time and money on a Windows Phone app that next to nobody will use. I don't think WP fans appreciate that there's a big app gap between iOS and Android too.

Those mentioning Universal apps are way off base. Windows 8 has had worse dev adoption than Windows Phone in terms of apps and if anything the Universal apps were trying to get WP devs onto Windows rather than the other way around. MS seems to be on the right track partnering with Xamarin that makes cross-platform apps easier. If you can make it so that it's just as easy to make an iPhone/Android/WP app as an iPhone/Android app, WP can only benefit from that. If I ran MS, I'd snap up Xamarin (and maybe Unity) and put as much MS financial and tech muscle as I could behind it even if it meant releasing Visual Studio 2015 on the Mac or even Linux as well as Windows. The only way WP is going to get the top apps is that it is effortless for devs and the people who pay them to make apps for all platforms at the same time. Devs want that too. When Xamarin did their presentation at the last //Build conference, they had to move to the main hall because so many wanted to attend.

Until it becomes trivial to build apps for all three platforms, WP is going to stay a distant third in the app race.

 

[EC Translating Services]

Maybe for the US based users it looks good. However it's hard to see the OS going any well in other regions (I am in Asia). I have to stress once again that i lack a lot of apps that Android has (Dictionaries, language tools mainly). The OS lacks real integration outside the Office dominion. IE won't even allow to save to Pocket or any other place (Firefox, Dolphin do) and.....WP keyboard lacks inputs for some languages. Maps are terrible. It's not just a matter of quantity. Quality is not there. From the poor quality of tiles, graphics, contents, integration, details. The OS is not refined and developers (the few i know) are not happy about the fact Microsoft insists in offering one core thing they then have to layer up with a different dress. Browsers are a good example. They are all copies of IE, with all its flaws. (Kaspersky, Fsecure, etc. etc.). Maxthon and Surfy are a bit better but still lack a lot and i am sure it's API issues. Tons of apps are photocopies of one another (Maps are a perfect example) and the Bing platform is terribly lacking (and finally Microsoft is admitting it). The overall thing lacks synergy between OS and Apps. The ecosystem is broken.

 

[nasellok]

There are exactly (3) apps that I want, Flipboard, WatchESPN, and Verizon Fios. Other than those, i have no app issues. Flipboard has many alternatives, the others do not

 

[Chregu]

Never. Your post tells me you have never accomplished anything in life. From relationship to a career.

My friend. If WP is to succeed they must be persistence.

Persistence is the key to success. Any successful individual will tell you that.

You've gotten awfully personal here. After all Microsoft is famous for releasing something and discontinuing it shortly after.

A few examples: Zune Player , Kin phone , SPOT Smartwatch, WP7 and so on.

MSFT old business model. Things have changed.

That's not true. Things might change. The only thing that has changed so far is Microsoft looking for a person to make Bing usable in non-US countries. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[anon(6038817)]

Having just come from BlackBerry, I can tell you the app situation is much better and improving on Windows Phone. BB10 has to rely on its Android Runtime to make up for its terrible native app catalog. In fact, they are partnering with Amazon to make the Amazon Appstore an official part of the next major OS release. BB has conceded defeat in trying to develop a competitive native app ecosystem and thrown its existing native app developers under the bus.

Microsoft is in a much better position to attract developers and grow its WP app ecosystem. It's been a slow and difficult journey, but I think their persistence is paying off.

Though I am committed to trying out this Lumia 822 for at least 30 days, I can see myself staying with WP well beyond that.
Posted from my Nokia Lumia 822 using Tapatalk

 

[Shad0wguy]

iOS gets the apps first because of its user base, plus the limited amount of variations in the models they have to code for. There are only 4-5 screen resolutions across all iOS devices, and the OS is the same due to no OEM tweaking like with android.

I think WP would be up there with iOS if the user base was higher, as MS restricts the amount of variation in devices, though not as much as iOS, but certainly more than Android.

 

[Lance_WPCentral]

In the past couple of days, its raining Official apps. And I'm sure once WP8.1 is released globally more and more Official apps will keep pouring into the WP store. Its all a matter of time and patience. With WP the word patience is very important. Over the past year a lot of progress has been achieved.

 

[Pierre Blackwell]

It is predicted that iOS will loose markest share to WP in the next three to four years. I do agree with the notion of patience. I'm hoping the with the official launch of WP 8.1, Cortana and Maclaren, that we'll see an ambitious approach from MSFT to show the rest of the world what WP users already know....how amazing WP is, and the unique experience it delivers that rivals iOS and Andriod.

 

[Chregu]

It is predicted that iOS will loose markest share to WP in the next three to four years. I do agree with the notion of patience. I'm hoping the with the official launch of WP 8.1, Cortana and Maclaren, that we'll see an ambitious approach from MSFT to show the rest of the world what WP users already know....how amazing WP is, and the unique experience it delivers that rivals iOS and Andriod.

I don't think that's something that will convince people to buy a phone: "Well, you have great apps and features on the other platforms, but if you wait Windows Phone will become awesome! Probably!"

About predictions, it's like reading the crystal ball. Current data seems to indicate the opposite: Windows Phone share sinks in U.S. and China. Can anything save this OS? | Computerworld Blogs

 

[Chregu]

I think I should explain myself here, it might be a little offtopic, but I'll do it anyway.

In 2002 I bought my first Microsoft phone, the Orange SPV. Since then I have only used Microsoft devices, with one exception, the original Motorola RAZR for a short period of time. I owned a ton of phones, from the SPV 9000 to the HP iPAQ Voice Messenger to the HTC HD just to mention a few examples. Then Microsoft decided to discontinue Windows Mobile, and even though I was shocked about the featureless successor Windows Phone 7, I bought a Samsung Omnia 7. I moved from a small computer to a smartphone with by far the most limited feature set available on every OS.

Back then I hoped things would improve fast. I bought a Lumia 800 and a Omnia W during this time. All we got was resizeable tiles and copy and paste before they discontinued it.

Windows Phone 8 was from an user-perspective an exact copy of Windows Phone 7.8, only with features missing like FM radio (reintroduced later in a GDR update with great fanfare) and without Zune. Still, I bought the HTC 8X (which I think is a great phone actually) and later the Lumia 620 which I handed to my mother after a while.

After all these years using Windows Phone right now the first real update is released with Windows Phone 8.1. An update that still has less features than Windows Mobile had. Of course, Windows Mobile needed a refresh, it needed to be made touch friendly, but Microsoft really just dumbed it down, and it's still suffering from that.

You might now understand why I don't think Windows Phone is new and refreshing, I think it's old and stuck. You might now understand why I'm tired of waiting for the big thing to happen. I just did it for too long.

 

[tgp]

I think I should explain myself here, it might be a little offtopic, but I'll do it anyway.

In 2002 I bought my first Microsoft phone, the Orange SPV. Since then I have only used Microsoft devices, with one exception, the original Motorola RAZR for a short period of time. I owned a ton of phones, from the SPV 9000 to the HP iPAQ Voice Messenger to the HTC HD just to mention a few examples. Then Microsoft decided to discontinue Windows Mobile, and even though I was shocked about the featureless successor Windows Phone 7, I bought a Samsung Omnia 7. I moved from a small computer to a smartphone with by far the most limited feature set available on every OS.

Back then I hoped things would improve fast. I bought a Lumia 800 and a Omnia W during this time. All we got was resizeable tiles and copy and paste before they discontinued it.

Windows Phone 8 was from an user-perspective an exact copy of Windows Phone 7.8, only with features missing like FM radio (reintroduced later in a GDR update with great fanfare) and without Zune. Still, I bought the HTC 8X (which I think is a great phone actually) and later the Lumia 625 which I handed to my mother after a while.

After all these years using Windows Phone right now the first real update is released with Windows Phone 8.1. An update that still has less features than Windows Mobile had. Of course, Windows Mobile needed a refresh, it needed to be made touch friendly, but Microsoft really just dumbed it down, and it's still suffering from that.

You might now understand why I don't think Windows Phone is new and refreshing, I think it's old and stuck. You might now understand why I'm tired of waiting for the big thing to happen. I just did it for too long.

I went from WM to Android about 3 years ago. Feature-wise it was roughly similar, but Android was much more touch friendly. The only reason I switched was that I went from postpaid to prepaid. Android was pretty much the only smartphone option on prepaid back then. I had used WM for a couple years before switching to Android. So for me to take a step down in functionality from 5 years ago is difficult. That's part of why WP is still my 2nd, non primary device.

 

[Dantekai14]

All who thinks the app gap is closed
Answer this

Tell me a free video player for WP like vlc or mxplayer.

As far as I know their is only one video player which cost you $4.

Please do not spread wrong information. It is far from close

 

[WillysJeepMan]

In the past couple of days, its raining Official apps. And I'm sure once WP8.1 is released globally more and more Official apps will keep pouring into the WP store. Its all a matter of time and patience. With WP the word patience is very important. Over the past year a lot of progress has been achieved.

It's all fun and games until Microsoft re-boots their mobile platform. Windows Phone 7 was released on Nov 8 2010 and on Oct 29 2012 Windows Phone 8 (which was incompatible with WP7) was released. (That wasn't the first, or even 2nd time, that Microsoft rebooted their mobile platforms)

Other than wishful thinking and an emotional attachment to Microsoft, why should anyone buy a Windows Phone with the expectation and hope that it will someday reach a level of parity with Android and iOS?

People should buy the device that works for them TODAY... not that MIGHT work for them 2 years from now IF things go favorably for Microsoft.

I'm not saying or implying that Windows Phone 8 is not good, but if anyone finds it lacking, they should not gamble that those gaps will be filled.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Personally, I never cared about the app gap. At the time MSFT was pushing the idea of better integration of services into task driven are as a called hubs. Inloked the idea of not having to jump from app to app in order to get things done. That's one of the primary reasons for joining WP after leaving iOS out of boredom and not liking how battery inefficient Android was at the time - Gingerbread going into ICS. Had a BB was getting long in the tooth.

Now these days I only use WP and Android. There are still things on WP that has it as my daily driver, but personally I want more out of the OS itself. Yes, Apple has branded many folks into app loving consumers and on the one hand that's not a bad thing, but MSFT still hasn't done enough to both get in apps for those folks but to make sure that enough functionality exists for people like me who don't need or always want an app to do everything. Plus the hardware is uninspiring right now too - Lumia 1520, 930 and Ativ SE notwithstanding.

Posted via Princely Purple Z Ultra

 

[Keith Wallace]

I don't think it'll be there for a while, maybe 2-3 years. We've seen this before, getting a small handful of official apps, then a few months of depression and complaining.

 

[rodan01]

The only way to close the app gap is implementing the Android runtime on Windows.

 

[anon(6038817)]

The only way to close the app gap is implementing the Android runtime on Windows.

I couldn't disagree more. BlackBerry has chosen to implement this strategy, and I think it will backfire on them for several reasons.

First, while it does remove a big obstacle to people adopting the platform, it also removes a big reason to stay. Piggybacking on the Android app ecosystem makes it that much easier for people to be lured away to an Android device, because their favorite apps wil run (and run better) on it.

Second, apps that depend on Google Services are not supported. So you will still not have access to some of the most popular Android apps out there. There will still be a perceived "app gap".

Third, while some apps run fine in the Android runtime, others do not. There is a notable lag and drop in performance. No matter how much you improve the Android runtime performance it will still be inferior to a native app experience.

Fourth, this will most likely kill native app development, and therefore, any hope of developing a robust native app ecosystem that will keep customers "hooked" and offer an experience other platforms cannot. MS would be foolish to kill the momentum it is gaining with WP app developers by abandoning them for the Android catalog.

Fifth, Windows Phone has, by far, best design language, UI, and style of the 4 major platforms. It's one of the reasons my BlackBerry Z30 is sitting in a drawer right now while I try out a Lumia 822. The OS and app experience is more unified and stylistically consistent on WP, and it makes for a very fluid, pleasant user experience. Running Android apps would, in my opinion, cheapen the experience as it has with BlackBerry.

 

[Vitor Salvatore Pierce]

Do not just have apps, must have quality apps.
"Quantity is not quality."
And still missing several apps, yes.

 

[Pierre Blackwell]

Windows mobile like Palm was a legacy network. Could MSFT have integrated it on the same kernel as Windows now like they're trying to do with WP8.1? I'm sure they could, but the question is resources, compatability, cost and other variables. I agree about Windows Mobile being highly functional, even better then iOS in the iPhone, but the iPhone changed all that. Its not about putting a computer in your hand, but extending a computer network to your hand. I don't think Windows mobile would've been as successful today if MSFT continues to push it. It wasn't too successful back then. Again, I understand the frustration and limit of unfulfilled expectations, but with the direction that mobile is going, I'd say MSFT is making an attempt to bring a more ambitious approach to WP. If you're using WP as your primary driver like me, or as a secondary driver like others, that position probably isn't going to change unless you find yourself either not needing the functionality of another OS or that functionality has been addressed. WP is like Hundai...in the mid to late 80's it was an appealing cheaper option to the Hondas, and Nissans of the world, but under the hood and performance wise it just didn't measure up. Hundai introduce the most aggressive warranty policy to date and began perfecting their product. Now they are one of the most successful car makers in the world. Obviously the evolution of computer technology occurs much faster, but I think WP is at a point where you're going to start to see a shift. Pick points of interest. Price, cheaper then the iPhone, and comparable to Andriod. Integration, there are more consumers out there running MSFT Os's on desktops and laptops then any other OS. Xbox 360 is the most popular gaming console. The tempation is there to complete the circle with a WP. Improve the product itself. WP8.1 is the first OS upgrade the is comparable to its competition, with some new platform exclusive applications like Cortana. The last ingredient is some good ol fashion luck, which in form of Blackberry tanking, might be the best sign for WP. Enterprises that used BB, are more compelled to gravitate to WP since many are already heavily indulged in MSFT. McLaren is going to be released on three carriers at the same time for the first time. What mark WP has in the next year will go a long way to determine the lasting impression it has and MSFT intends to into it.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

The only way to close the app gap is implementing the Android runtime on Windows.

That's a common belief and I understand why it is appealing, but that would be the death knell for Windows Phone OS. If we examine the root cause for the app gap, we'll see that it isn't because the media is so pro-Apple, or that Google did anything underhanded to gain marketshare, but because Microsoft has repeatedly stumbled and fumbled in the mobile space.

Many have forgotten, or were too young to remember, that the 2 big players in mobile were Palm and Microsoft. Microsoft's Windows CE, Pocket PC, and the rest were highly functional, highly flexible platforms. I developed for those early mobile platforms and did a lot of UI work as well. It had a level of ease of customization that Android still hasn't attained.

But Microsoft squandered the lead it had. Even when Palm imploded, Microsoft found ways to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

I've lost count of how many developers got burned by putting their eggs in the Microsoft mobile basket. Once burned, twice shy. Apple seized on that distrust and rolled out the red carpet for developers. And Google later followed suit.

Microsoft will have to work twice as hard for twice as long to regain even a fraction of the good will they wasted.

There's no shortcut to that. There is no shortcut for establishing a good track record.