Operation Metro

[gwydionjhr]

I saw/heard this mentioned on the latest WP Central podcast. The idea being using the WPCentral community to make a co-ordinated effort to get more apps built for our platform.

It's actually something I've been thinking about for quite a while, but I've been sitting on it, waiting for the right time.

I've got a slightly different take on it. I think the ideal way to do this would be to bootstrap WP8 apps by relying on the roll out of Win8.

As I understand it, with the new kernel, WinRt, anything written for Win8 can be ported over to WP8 with very little difficulty; there is the bootstrap potential.

My thinking was to wait for the Release Preview of Win8 scheduled for the first week of June. Once that came out, we start doing some comparison's between the iOS and Android Marketplaces to see what's missing, and then make a co-ordinated effort to bring the need for a Win8 app to the attention of companies that are currently MIA on our platform.

Asking for an app for WP8, when the current platform has such small market share probably won't gain much attention. Whereas bringing the upcoming Win8 release to the attention of companies that may not be aware that a new PC platform is coming that will be more "App" focused will be more likely to get noticed. Using numbers like "500 Million computers currently use Windows 7", having an app for the new version will reach more customers than any other platform. (or something like that) is much more likely to get them thinking of having an app made for Win8.

And while I think applying pressure to big name apps like Instagram, etc, might be useful, I'm pretty sure those "houses" are already aware of Win8 and what apps are going to mean on that platform.

I think our efforts would be better focused on bringing Win8 apps to the attention of more mundane businesses who's primary source of revenue is not centered around the internet. By this I mean your local bank, restaurant chain, etc. How many times do you see advertisements from these kinds of businesses with a tag line promoting their iOS or Android app?

If a lack of apps is the last hurdle for WP8, I think it's these companies that we, as regular consumers, can make a contribution by bringing the need for an app to their attention. I'm pretty sure a letter to Consumer Relations of my bank, of which I am a actual customer, might actually get read and someone there may actually discuss my question of an app for Win8, so they can respond to my letter. Whereas a letter to Instagram will just get a form reply because they're more plugged in what's coming and have already figured out their plans for it.

Whaddayathink folks?

 

[rbrunner]

Interesting idea - in theory

I would say that you have a nice idea here, but unfortunately only in theory. There are practical problems with it.

First, you put so many "if's" on top of each other that the resulting tower gets very high and can topple at any moment. If Windows 8 comes out at the right moment and isn't very late, and if developers accept the new WinRT environment (no guarantee), and if WP8 comes out in a reasonable time frame after Windows 8, and if it really is based on WinRT as well, and if porting really is as easy as you hope for now - then, and only then, your idea could fly. See what I mean?

Second, even assuming the exact same programming environment on Windows 8 and WP8, you just don't program desktop, tablet and phone applications in the same way. If you try to bring your average desktop application to a smartphone, even if it compiles and runs, it may not be usable - with the screen layouts all wrong (too many controls per page), the memory consumption maybe too high, data traffic too high for mobile use, etc.

Just look at Apple: The exact same OS as far as APIs and programming tools are concerned running on iPhone and iPad, and still you have iPhone apps and iPad apps.