At least if he was going to make such a big deal about apps he should have said which apps he uses that were so critical.
You mean like the 3rd paragraph?
Instapaper turned the iPhone’s blank canvas into reading material. Omnifocus helped me organize my tasks. iPod’s easy integration with iTunes turned it into a podcast station. Saver let me keep track of my expenses and decide if I should throttle back on my spending. Reeder plugged me into my favorite RSS feeds. Pulse fed me a delicious stream of news. I’m not too much of an iOS gamer, but I enjoyed the occasional Strategery round.
So, lets answer his questions for him. I don't know any replacement except 2 off the top of my head, so everything will be searching...
Instapaper = Fuse (1st search, 1st result, great reviews)
Omnifocus = Tasks (2nd search, Omnifocus brings back nothing)
iPod = Zune (duh....)
Saver = My Expenses (1st search for "Expenses")
Reader = Weave (What I use...but I want a LIVE TILE! anyone have a better option

)
Pulse = Weave...I use it for news and RSS...not sure of the difference...
iOS Gamer = .........C'mon, who is he kidding, hahaha
In my opinion, it wasn't the lack of apps, it was the lack of 3 years of research in finding the best app for whatever task they wanted.
I don't think MS wants to try to convert every Apple user, they want to try to get the people just looking into getting a new phone to hop on board!!!