Abandoned WP Apps

[Austinguy23]

I looked at the Windows Phone App Store to see if they have the apps I use most often on my iPhone 4S and whether they are as feature rich as the versions available on iOS.

I noticed some troubling patterns. Often the apps I searched for were, in fact, there. However, the ratings and reviews were horrendous. User reviews stated that the apps no longer worked, were buggy, and lacked a great deal of functionality compared to the same app on other platforms like Android or iOS.

Being a skeptic, I thought that perhaps these could just be false reviews/ratings made by competing developers. That is, until I looked at the apps' last release dates. That explained it. These apps were all AT LEAST a year old with some listed as having been last updated in 2010!

I compared the last release dates to the same apps in the iOS App Store and found that they had all been updated within the past MONTH.

No wonder the Windows Phone versions were buggy, missing features, and had awful reviews/ratings. Developers had simply slapped together a WP port of their apps long ago (likely only because Microsoft at least partially subsidized the effort) and then completely abandoned the apps to whither away while their iOS & Android counterparts continued to enjoy frequent and impressive updates.

I have to say that I find this incredibly disappointing since I was considering upgrading to the Lumia 920 from my iPhone 4S.

What, if anything, is being done about this?

 

[12Danny123]

a Dual Core phone will likely fix up things. And stop making fun of Wp8 for god sakes man. if you don't like it. go. If you want to upgrade to the Lumia 920 go ahead and stop trolling the place about resizable tiles. MS is trying to be different from the competition. look what happened to android. just getting sued non stop from apple because it looks similar to IOS and they are even suing Android 4.0/4.1. that what happens when you don't differentiate from competitors. In the future I think Most OEMs will have Wp for their Second OS of choice

 

[Szabinger]

So now you are trolling the forums now. Now that you are not upgrading. (clap) Good job man. get an award for that. Of course they will fix it up. a Dual Core phone will likely fix up things. If I was a Moderator. I would give a warning to you. for not trolling so don't or get banned.

What's wrong with you man?

 

[12Danny123]

What's wrong with you man?

Nothing. just stopping him to stop complaining about resizable tiles. all over the place.

 

[anon(5335899)]

I looked at the Windows Phone App Store to see if they have the apps I use most often on my iPhone 4S and whether they are as feature rich as the versions available on iOS.

Proof? Examples? Sources?

In other words; Baseless, meaningless and pointless trolling

We'll talk in a year, when the iPhone 5s maybe has caught up to this years WP8 devices but fails to become the trendsetting phone it once was. That will only happen if iOS is rewritten from the ground up using a modern and fresh UI which will break 90% of the current apps.

Apple is stuck in their own 'infinite' loop (no pun intended) and can't get out unless they abandon their current OS/UI which will in turn alienate many users and give many users the chance to finally jump and switch to a truly innovative OS. MSFT made the generation shift at the right time and the backlash from their choice will pale compared to the disaster it will spell for Apple when they are forced to do the same.

They will find out the meaning of the saying "Don't kick the man you pass when you rise to the top, you will see him again when you come tumbling down."

 

[12Danny123]

Proof? Examples? Sources?

In other words; Baseless, meaningless and pointless trolling

We'll talk in a year, when the iPhone 5s maybe has caught up to this years WP8 devices but fails to become the trendsetting phone it once was. That will only happen if iOS is rewritten from the ground up using a modern and fresh UI which will break 90% of the current apps.

Apple is stuck in their own 'infinite' loop (no pun intended) and can't get out unless they abandon their current OS/UI which will in turn alienate many users and give many users the chance to finally jump and switch to a truly innovative OS. MSFT made the generation shift at the right time and the backlash from their choice will pale compared to the disaster it will spell for Apple when they are forced to do the same.

They will find out the meaning of the saying "Don't kick the man you pass when you rise to the top, you will see him again when you come tumbling down."

Agreed. being too successful is not good for their innovation. Look what happened to Apple. they are made fun because they lacked innovation and now they massively failed on the Apple Maps problem and the iphone 5 has problems with the hardware. I have seen 15 returns of the Iphone 5 because of the scratches. and call dropping issues. even my dad has one and he wants to kill it. because it came with scratch marks and it had problems with the charging as well. I think I'll buy a 8X for him since he likes the colours and the tiles that shows info. He's no teche at all. He clearly knows that functionality is important than the Start screen Looks

 

[Austinguy23]

a Dual Core phone will likely fix up things. And stop making fun of Wp8 for god sakes man. if you don't like it. go. If you want to upgrade to the Lumia 920 go ahead and stop trolling the place about resizable tiles.

Don't call someone a troll just because they criticize your platform of choice. It's a juvenile and uncivil response.

If I didn't care, I wouldn't post. I *want* WP to flourish because I love Nokia's hardware and want OS options, but I see MS dropping the ball.

 

[12Danny123]

Don't call someone a troll just because they criticize your platform of choice. It's a juvenile and uncivil response.

If I didn't care, I wouldn't post. I *want* WP to flourish because I love Nokia's hardware and want OS options, but I see MS dropping the ball.

But I think you should wait for the official event for wp8. then judge. you can't judge right now

 

[Dave Blake]

You make it hard for us to help you with your questions if you don't tell us what apps you are talking about. That is a lot of research to do without naming apps. Nothing brings about change like community involvement if you will list the apps we can all contact the developer. I will bet that a bunch of app developers are waiting on the WP8 SDK before updating their apps. I need you to post the apps in question or this thread becomes irrelevant.

 

[jabtano]

I haven't seen that the apps that I made or the apps from developers that I know have been and will be fully supported, most people have pride in the work they do and will always want to make them better. unless the developer leaves the platform that is.

 

[Austinguy23]

You make it hard for us to help you with your questions if you don't tell us what apps you are talking about. That is a lot of research to do without naming apps. Nothing brings about change like community involvement if you will list the apps we can all contact the developer. I will bet that a bunch of app developers are waiting on the WP8 SDK before updating their apps. I need you to post the apps in question or this thread becomes irrelevant.

Here ya go. These are the apps I use frequently in iOS that I could find in Windows Phone Marketplace.

iHeartRadio: Last updated 10/20/2010

The Weather Channel: Last updated 10/21/2010

Match.com: Last updated 10/25/2010

Shazam: Last updated 5/26/2011

 

[diapers]

It costs 99$ a year to register as a developer.

This might not seem like a big deal initially but after the euphoria of releasing your first app and realizing after 3 months you're barely making half that, most devs will cancel their subscription.

If you decide to stick it out, your 99$ gets you a turn around time of publishing which averages out about a month. A week to get it approved, another couple of days to get it appearing on the market place, you cannot see your app stats in real time. App stats are delayed a week! If I want to view how my app is performing I can only see data from last week.

Reviews are buggy, their official forums are ****, there's no rhyme or reason behind "featured apps", **** i've seen featured apps that don't even work because they haven't been updated and broken. Basically unless you're making quite a bit of money there's really no point in paying to lose money.

So devs will release an app, then abandon it.

 

[textomatic]

iHeartRadio is somewhat broken but there are alternatives. If you are considering buying a 920 then Nokia offers a music app called Nokia Music that is similar to iHeartRadio/Pandora/Slacker. But the Nokia Music app doesn't have adds, which makes it better.

Nokia offers their own version of The Weather Channel and it works just fine. No worry in that department.

I'm married so I don't use dating apps.

I don't use Shazam because Windows Phone has it's own music analyzer built into the OS, easily accessible through the search button. On the back end I think it uses SoundHound to come up with the results. It works great for me.

Anyway you are probably right that there are many apps that don't get the love they deserve from their developers. But on the flip side there are many great alternatives to meet your needs. You just have to weigh the pros and cons and see if its the right move for you.

 

[Dave Blake]

Here ya go. These are the apps I use frequently in iOS that I could find in Windows Phone Marketplace.

iHeartRadio: Last updated 10/20/2010

The Weather Channel: Last updated 10/21/2010

Match.com: Last updated 10/25/2010

Shazam: Last updated 5/26/2011

Have you tried any of these apps? In that list the only one I use is the Weather Channel app it is a very good app. Most app developers want to make significant changes in there apps when they are updated. If the apps are good the way they are and no significant gains will be made then they wont get updated. I will imagine a lot of apps will be updated when WP8 is released. This isn't like Android where every other day a new bug is found or an new screen size is added prompting updates. I don't know about Apple products updates why do they need so many frequent updates what changes are they making? My suggestion would be that you wait till long after WP8 is released and make sure your favorite apps are up to par for you. Don't be so concerned with when an app is updated but rather if the app is good or not.

 

[1jaxstate1]

Add Carbon to that list. They dumped WP7, just as they did on WebOS.

 

[Siah1214]

I think you are confusing "published date" and "updated". I know weather channel was updated a month ago, I can't speak for the others. The marketplace doesn't show updates, just original publishing.

Tldr:
Read better.

Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express

 

[12Danny123]

I think you are confusing "published date" and "updated". I know weather channel was updated a month ago, I can't speak for the others. The marketplace doesn't show updates, just original publishing.

Tldr:
Read better.

Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express

Yep he's confusing it with release date. and not sure he used a Windows phone before. so he cannot judge. properly. still don't get why he's here if he doesn't like the wp8 tile.

 

[Austinguy23]

I think you are confusing "published date" and "updated". I know weather channel was updated a month ago, I can't speak for the others. The marketplace doesn't show updates, just original publishing.

Tldr:
Read better.

Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express

No, navigate to Windows Phone Marketplace. The field clearly states "Last Updated:".

 

[Laura Knotek]

No, navigate to Windows Phone Marketplace. The field clearly states "Last Updated:".

I can verify that Weather Channel updated last month. Also, I didn't even have a Windows Phone until April 2012. So if I got a Weather Channel app update, then the date listed in Marketplace is obviously its original release date, not the date of its last update.

 

[Austinguy23]

I can verify that Weather Channel updated last month. Also, I didn't even have a Windows Phone until April 2012. So if I got a Weather Channel app update, then the date listed in Marketplace is obviously its original release date, not the date of its last update.

That assumption doesn't make sense. Open your browser and navigate to the app marketplace for all three mobile platforms - iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

Now, search for Shazam on all three. What kind of date is listed for the app? The date that the very first version of the app was released? Nope. It's the "last update" date. Why? Because that's what the average customer cares about. They want to know if the developer is continually making updates to the app or if they just slapped it up there a couple years ago and never looked back.

As for the Weather Channel example you mentioned, I would say it's more likely that Microsoft simply isn't updating the "Last update" field automatically/consistently. I'm pretty sure they know what "Last update" means.

In any event, it's pretty well known that the Windows Phone platform has a problem with many developers not keeping their apps current. The point of my post is to see what is being done about it, not to debate whether the problem exists. It clearly does.