What comes first: the chicken or the egg?
That conundrum is often used to portray the problem of the relatively weak developer support that has plagued Microsoft's mobile platform and now the broader Universal Windows Platform of which it is a part.
We know that developers will make apps for a platform that has a reasonable number of users. Users will also use a platform that has the popular apps they enjoy. Windows phone has historically had a poor representation of both users and app developers, and therein lies the problem. Users won't come (in part) due to missing apps. Developers won't bring apps to a platform without users. And around and round we go.
Admittedly, there are many Windows phone users that greatly enjoy the platform and find that the "app gap" presents a minor impact to their smartphone activity.
The Windows phone user base numbers in the millions, but it accounts for just 1% of global smartphone users ? a lot of users, but a small target compared to iPhone and Android. The experiences, compromises, and expectations of Windows phone users are not completely reflective of the rest of the billions of other smartphone users out there.
When you use iOS or Android, you expect that any advertised app will be available on your phone, whether you're inclined to use it or not. A Windows phone user is often better served not getting his hopes up, given the lackluster level of developer support. Currently, Windows phone is indeed alive and kicking, but many developers consider Windows only as an afterthought, if at all. Even worse, there are those who have supported the platform, and seemingly as a second thought decided the platform was not worth continued investment.
Alas, these departing developers and businesses have joined what is seemingly, on some level, a Windows phone app exodus.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...
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