Why doesn't Ms just...

[anon(5383410)]

Develop apps or at least have a shop in their network do so for the major retailers (WalMart, target, etc) for free?

Am I missing something? Wouldn't it be worth it for the exposure and pr of having official apps for household names?

 

[Zulfigar]

WalMart, Target, ect is already ran by Microsoft (Windows), what else do you see they can do?

 

[anon(5383410)]

WalMart, Target, ect is already ran by Microsoft (Windows), what else do you see they can do?

I'm not sure what you mean by them being "ran by Microsoft" because of Windows, but as far as what I can see them doing...I can see them creating official apps for them as well as some other major retailers. Do it for free just for the exposure. I have to stop myself short of saying it should've been a necessity at launch to have OFFICIAL apps for all of the "big boys". These have been deal breakers for most of the people I've tried to introduce to the platform.

So much so that I'd just made the assumption that ios and android didnt have apps for these retailers either because they hadn't made the decision to go mobile. My initial thought was "There's no way they can have a mobile presence and not be a top priority for MS' app store". I was bored yesterday and googled "android walmart" and "android target" and was shocked and disappointed.

I am in no way some huge Walmart of Target ****** (do they even have fanboys?) I'm just using them as symbols of the slow progress of the app store. Come on MS, get it in gear.

 

[Jaskys]

lol wat, ridiculous thread, especially the "free" part

 

[anon(5383410)]

lol wat, ridiculous thread, especially the "free" part

It's ridiculous for MS to offer free development? The exposure alone is worth more than any fee they'd charge. When you're trying to get your foot in the door it's common practice to hand out some freebies to get off the ground. I don't think this is some foreign, inconceivable concept at all.

They were rumored to have offered to pay other vendors to produce handsets for WP8, why wouldn't they do the same here? Having the most popular apps is arguably more important than a vast array of handsets, many of which would have very similar specs anyway.