Windows Phone Marketplace Reaches 50,000 Apps - Application Development - News & Reviews -
eWeek.com. As the Windows Phone Marketplace reaches 50,000 apps, it is getting to be time to ask the big question. Why isn't Microsoft starting to get some Windows phone traction? While iOS and Android dominate the mobile phone market, pundits generally agree that the new Windows Phone OS is very good, and getting better. It has the added advantage of being able to run with the new Windows 8, which will unify the desktop and mobile interfaces for millions of computers. Some have suggested that Microsoft's insistence on control with mobile phone manufacturers is a big reason; but, that hasn't stopped manufacturers from clamoring to build phones that run iOS from Apple. It may be that Microsoft is being hoist on its own petard. Apple never really took a lion's share of the market in desktop and notebook computers from Microsoft because there were so many millions of users invested in the system over a long period of time. I know, because I am one of them. I have so much time and money invested in Windows software that I didn't want to look for alternatives to them in the Apple world. And, there are some productivity apps that just don't have a counterpart in Apple land. 50,000 apps is a lot of apps; and, maybe when Microsoft gets more phones in the market, more people will try it. For now, it is nice that another choice is emerging. For the consumer, that is a good thing.