Windows Phone 7 Apps
Since the launch of Windows Phone 7 operating system last year, Microsoft has been trying to catch up to Apple and Google in the mobile-apps race. Microsofts says that there are now 11,500 applications available in its Windows Marketplace store. Out of that, 7,500 applications are paid, while 1,110 apps are generating revenue through ads, thanks to the company's Microsoft Advertising Ad Control service. On average, Microsoft says, users are downloading 12 apps each month.
Phone 7 Platform
The Windows Phone Application Platform enables developers to create mobile apps running on a Windows® Phone. It is built upon existing Microsoft® tools and technologies such as Visual Studio, Expression Blend®, Silverlight®, and the XNA Framework that we are experts of. Our developers were already familiar with those technologies and their related tools, therefore were able to create new applications for Windows Phone without sweat.
Increasing Popularity
The size of Microsoft's mobile marketplace still pales in comparison to Apple's App Store. According to the Apple app page on the company's Web site, there are now over 350,000 available applications to its customers. Microsoft isn't too concerned about the number of apps available in its marketplace. The company's Brandon Watson said in the blog post that for Microsoft, it's a matter of "quality over quantity." Its app tally does not include "lite apps," and it doesn't "double and triple count apps which are submitted in multiple languages."
Efficiency
Microsoft decided to completely ditch the old OS from previous Windows mobile versions and build Phone 7 from the ground up. If you've ever used a Zune HD portable media player than you'll notice some similarities in the GUI of Phone 7. So you ask what the heck was Zune HD? It was simply Microsoft's intial effort to getting into mobile phone app market. The previous OS was a flop so they have developed new one called Windows Phone 7. Overwhelmingly, people are saying that the Phone 7 interface and style are surprisingly refreshing.
Windows Phone 7 will be licensed to various mobile hardware vendors but comes with fairly strict hardware requirements. This is a good thing. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s Android platform struggles here with looser requirements that make the user experience feel less polished, with the great disparity among phone-button layouts, screen sizes, and processor speeds.
Bottomline
There have also been talks regarding Microsoft's uphill battle to attract developers to write applications for the new OS. And this is an absolute truth, because other markets for Android and iPhone are still huge revenue generators for developers. What we believe Microsoft is banking on is the fact that its OS comes built-in with Office applications and integration into MS Exchange and SharePoint servers. Perhaps their thinking is that Office apps and a few big-name apps (such as Facebook and Twitter Inc. among others) are all that is needed.
The best part of Microsoft mobile application we belive is SharePoint. Sharepoint is a wonderful collaboration tool. Then Again, there are third-party apps available for SharePoint, but it may be comforting to ses a mobile app that is made by the very server application developer. Microsoft may not become a huge player in the mobile arena with Windows Phone 7. The competition is fierce, and Microsoft's a little late in finally getting it right. But they definitely have the opportunity to carve out a nice, niche market for those users that are MS Office fans.
Windows Phone 7 application categories ca be:
- Entertainment and Games
- News
- Search Tools
- Social Networking
- Dictionaries
- Utilities
- Shopping
- Business and Finance
- Travel
- Fun
- Messaging
Again, ultimately the decision will have to be yours to make. If you are a bigtime wiondows fan then by all means, let us develop a windows app for you. Please remember this is a viable app solution and also maybe cost-effective.
