[anon(3463402)]

Things will change drastically with Windows 10, and yes, many more apps will become available to Windows users.

Why I think so?

1. I don't know about "official statistics" but I see more and more people switching to Windows phones lately (yes, I've converted some). Probably most people avoid Windows Phone because take advice from the Android users who'll surely discourage them with all the false thoughts they have about WP (actually they too haven't seen in their life). There are many misconceptions we have all heard about Windows Phones, and let's be honest - most of them are false.

2. Islandwood and Astoria will do they part for sure. IMHO developers must be stupid to not take a chance to offer their products to more potential users.

3. If not by original developers some apps will be ported "unofficially". Want it or not, it will happen before or later.

[ls505]

unfortunetely, the guy who runs snapchat is as much of a blind anti-MS fanboy as the ceo of tumblr who publically made fun of IE and MS.

[realwarder]

Except probably the pay-off of an increase of 2.5% on Android is much higher than the 2.5% on WP. Not to mention the Android developers would need to know how to work with the Microsoft conversion tools.
But hey...if you think that argument is solid enough to justify putting an app on the Windows Store, go try convince Starbucks & Co. of that. Because most major corporations that dropped their apps from WP alleged exactly that, the costs of keeping the apps (others, like Instagram, just abandoned the app).

I'm sure that was mostly out of embarrassment from never updating the app and having to pay to update the app when APIs change etc. However if you simply publish twice to two stores (similar to publishing to the Amazon store), then it will hardly be an overhead.

I agree waking companies up may be a challenge, but in Europe where Windows Phones are on the verge of outselling Apple phones, it may happen...

[DJCBS]

Things will change drastically with Windows 10, and yes, many more apps will become available to Windows users.

Why I think so?

1. I don't know about "official statistics" but I see more and more people switching to Windows phones lately (yes, I've converted some). Probably most people avoid Windows Phone because take advice from the Android users who'll surely discourage them with all the false thoughts they have about WP (actually they too haven't seen in their life). There are many misconceptions we have all heard about Windows Phones, and let's be honest - most of them are false.

2. Islandwood and Astoria will do they part for sure. IMHO developers must be stupid to not take a chance to offer their products to more potential users.

3. If not by original developers some apps will be ported "unofficially". Want it or not, it will happen before or later.

Allow me to counter-argument:

1 - I'm currently an Android user, having switched from WP. I do not recommend WP to anyone anymore. Simply because there's no app support for the platform and Microsoft's commitment to it is non-existent. I has been for the last 4 years and with the new direction, I don't see a future for WP. As for statistics...Ever since Nokia left, WP marketshare Worldwide has fallen from almost 4% to 2.5%. That means more and more people are opting to NOT pick up a Windows Phone.

2 - It's not that simple. They want to put in the work of porting the apps to WP and maintaining them. And with decreasing marketshare, companies just feel less inclined to even bother with a minimal fragment of the market. Islandwood and Astoria may prove very useful for apps that are though to run cross-devices. So, for example, Banking apps may benefit from it since even though Banks have no benefit in putting money on a WP app, they do if they're putting the app on Windows 10 PCs. And they do it because of Windows 10 PCs. WP gets a collateral benefit. However, for mobile-aimed apps, the PC Windows 10 users are not the target of developers. Mobile users are. And for mobile, there's the 2.5% quota.

3 - Unofficial ports will not be allowed in the Windows Store. Firstly because it's illegal. And secondly because the Windows Store still checks the apps for compliance with their terms of service. You may be able to sideload the apps into WP10 devices as you sort of can now on the preview, but the vast majority of the WP users will not even know they can do that let alone how to do it.

[anon(3463402)]

But what are you doing in Windows forums then? :)

1. That may be your experience, but as I said before I've noticed people coming more and more to Windows, usually by leaving Childroid.

2. No arguments - no comment.

3. Sure, unofficial ports are not allowed in the Windows Store, and that's why I love it too! Windows Store is completely safe, unlike Google Play which is full of garbage. When quantity is more important than quality - that's Google. But I'm talking about sideloading apps anyway, not about Store.

[DJCBS]

But what are you doing in Windows forums then? :)

1. That may be your experience, but as I said before I've noticed people coming more and more to Windows, usually by leaving Childroid.

2. No arguments - no comment.

3. Sure, unofficial ports are not allowed in the Windows Store, and that's why I love it too! Windows Store is completely safe, unlike Google Play which is full of garbage. When quantity is more important than quality - that's Google. But I'm talking about sideloading apps anyway, not about Store.

I don't have to justify myself to you when the side isn't WPCentral anymore. Besides, I've already answered that question ad nauseam ;)

1 - And that is your experience. It's, however, not verified by neither the facts nor the marketshare numbers. Mine is based on personal experience, retailer reports and official numbers.

2 - Plenty of arguments there. They might just not be to your liking or you can't counter-argue ;)

3 - Your conception of Android is as valid as someone judging Windows 10 by Windows Vista. Get up with the times, mate. Google's Play Store has now the same type of security scrutiny that the Windows Store has. The difference? It obviously takes longer for Google to act than Microsoft because the Play Store is more than 10 times the size of the Windows Store.

[Zoran Selinsek]

It's easy to put an app in the store. But keeping it has costs. Costs which most of those developers simply aren't willing to pay.

Could be this an explanation why usable apps for my NOKIA 1520 disappeared?
Is this the reason, why are my (hardware perfect working) NOKIA's, less and less capable?

I'm in the ''funny'' situation (I love mild language).
I can't move my downloaded HERE maps to SD card. Capable app was in the store ... later is evaporated like a water.
So, my ''funny'' situation is ... phone memory is getting full and my SD card is empty.