Why are developers hesitant to develop for wp?

meddyrainzo

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Is there any major reason why developers don't want to develop for WP? This might be the only thing holding WP after the 8.1 update. I have this fantasy that MS would announce a **** load of apps during build but really though, why do developers stay away from WP
 

Elitis

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Isn't it obvious? Money! The WP marketshare is pitiful compared to iOS or Android. Why develop something that could get seen by a hundred people, when you could get it seen by a thousand people? Its the classic catch-22. WP doesn't get more developers until its marketshare improves. The marketshare doesn't improve until we get more developers making apps. Or so they say. In actuality, apps don't sell an (mobile) OS. Everything that makes it unique sells it. If its not popular because its popular, it needs a "gimmick". For example, the GS4 sold well because Samsung is popular (for being popular), and all those gimmicky features were "cool".

WP could have a much better market-share if OEM (and MS for that matter) would truly differentiate WP from Android and iOS. The 41mp PureView camera is cool, but its a niche product.

Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Simply put, WP needs a bigger marketshare before more developers will consider developing for it.
 

Jas00555

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Isn't it obvious? Money! The WP marketshare is pitiful compared to iOS or Android. Why develop something that could get seen by a hundred people, when you could get it seen by a thousand people? Its the classic catch-22. WP doesn't get more developers until its marketshare improves. The marketshare doesn't improve until we get more developers making apps. Or so they say. In actuality, apps don't sell an (mobile) OS. Everything that makes it unique sells it. If its not popular because its popular, it needs a "gimmick". For example, the GS4 sold well because Samsung is popular (for being popular), and all those gimmicky features were "cool".

WP could have a much better market-share if OEM (and MS for that matter) would truly differentiate WP from Android and iOS. The 41mp PureView camera is cool, but its a niche product.

Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Simply put, WP needs a bigger marketshare before more developers will consider developing for it.

It's not so much market share as it is user base and how much that user base is willing to spend. For example, just by percentages, Windows Phone and Macs have the same market share, but since Mac users are willing to spend more money for their apps, they get most of what Windows gets. If Windows Phone users spent more, then we'd see more apps, but since most of the growth is at the low end, I don't see that happening any time soon.
 

hprvez

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Even with it's little marketshare wp revenue for developers is almost as high as Android. It is obviously because of piracy, developers are simply lazy or they feel that following the trend is the best for their business...
 

grant.palin

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While there's disincentive for developers due to the relative lack of users, there's also an advantage in developing for under-served platforms. The Android and iOS marketplaces are filled to the brim with apps, saturated, and it can be hard for individual apps to get noticed. Conversely, the odds are much better on smaller marketplaces such as Windows Phone (and BlackBerry 10, which I primarily use. I'm keeping a foot in both ecosystems). BB10 has the same problem, though WP8 has a head start. Some apps I like are on BB10 but not WP, and vise versa.
 

meddyrainzo

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Isn't it obvious? Money! The WP marketshare is pitiful compared to iOS or Android. Why develop something that could get seen by a hundred people, when you could get it seen by a thousand people? Its the classic catch-22. WP doesn't get more developers until its marketshare improves. The marketshare doesn't improve until we get more developers making apps. Or so they say. In actuality, apps don't sell an (mobile) OS. Everything that makes it unique sells it. If its not popular because its popular, it needs a "gimmick". For example, the GS4 sold well because Samsung is popular (for being popular), and all those gimmicky features were "cool".

WP could have a much better market-share if OEM (and MS for that matter) would truly differentiate WP from Android and iOS. The 41mp PureView camera is cool, but its a niche product.

Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Simply put, WP needs a bigger marketshare before more developers will consider developing for it.

I think apps go a long way in improving the marketshare. I know/heard of a lot of users that switched because of lack of apps.
 

foxbat121

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I think apps go a long way in improving the marketshare. I know/heard of a lot of users that switched because of lack of apps.
Typical chicken and egg dilemma. Without market share, any investment a potential dev makes towards WP app will bear the higher risk of flush down the drains so to speak. It's Microsoft's job to increase marketshare, not Devs'.
 

foxbat121

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Even with it's little marketshare wp revenue for developers is almost as high as Android. It is obviously because of piracy, developers are simply lazy or they feel that following the trend is the best for their business...

When was last time you heard a WP dev made millions like Angry Birds or even flappy birds?
 

meddyrainzo

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Looking at facts, there has been a great deal of popular apps released on WP in the recent past, and more coming.

Yeah, major apps like Instagram, Vine and BBM are making(and some already have made) their way to the MarketPlace but sometimes it's the little apps like a local bank app that makes the difference.
 

k0de

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Is there any major reason why developers don't want to develop for WP? This might be the only thing holding WP after the 8.1 update. I have this fantasy that MS would announce a **** load of apps during build but really though, why do developers stay away from WP

Before iOS and Android. MSFT was developer safe heaven. But if you developed for MSFT your application belong to MSFT not the Developer.

iOS and Android changed the world. If you develop for iOS and Android the application belongs to the Developer not the Operating System. This is what we call Open Source.

Just recently MSFT open their market. Forget market shares and the bblah blah. Many Developers still don't feel that MSFT is a Open Source market and are not comfortable developing for MSFT.

There is plenty of evidence that MSFT has changed and is now open. But It will take time though for MSFT to regain the confidence of the Developers.
 
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foxbat121

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But releasing the app on all 3 platforms would only bring more cash to the developer
Develop an app for any platform is hard work and require a lot of extra resources. Sure, I'm a billionaire, I could release an app to a million market place at once. But the fact that majority of the devs are not. The ones that are, ROI is important to them
It's not like you can just flip a switch and make an app work in WP.
 

meddyrainzo

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Develop an app for any platform is hard work and require a lot of extra resources. Sure, I'm a billionaire, I could release an app to a million market place at once. But the fact that majority of the devs are not. The ones that are, ROI is important to them
It's not like you can just flip a switch and make an app work in WP.

Of course I know it takes time to make apps and resources are spent. But lets say flappy bird was released on all 3 platforms, it would have done a lot better(financially) because almost everyone would have been able to enjoy it at the same time but yeah I get the point. Developers can't really bank on WP yet cause it's a growing platform and its sad that WPs major problem is its lack of app. Even developers know this
WP just has to get app support to stay relevant.
 

GSOgymrat

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Anyone know approximately how much would it cost to make an average app, say something like an e-reader, for Windows Phone?
 

k0de

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Anyone know approximately how much would it cost to make an average app, say something like an e-reader, for Windows Phone?

Off toic dukie. Start a new thread. The App it self is free. Develop it yourself with App Studio or Visual Studio Express for WP along with the SDK. As far as marketing that's up to you.
 

tgp

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But lets say flappy bird was released on all 3 platforms, it would have done a lot better(financially) because almost everyone would have been able to enjoy it at the same time but yeah I get the point.

If the Flappy Birds developer would've created a WP version, he would've covered 99% of the market. With 2/3 of that effort, he covered 95%. Is it worth 50% more work to get an additional 4% of the market?
 

OzRob

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If the Flappy Birds developer would've created a WP version, he would've covered 99% of the market. With 2/3 of that effort, he covered 95%. Is it worth 50% more work to get an additional 4% of the market?

Not to mention the fact that if s/he wanted to release for WP around the same time as the other platforms, s/he would have had to delay the release on all platforms until the WP development was done, potentially missing a window of opportunity.

(and by the way, it's actually 33.3% more work to get that additional 4% of the market, but your point stands).
 

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