Saturday, May 11, 2013

I don't entirely buy it...

A recent report says that development of apps for Windows Phone has stagnated and that there is big trouble on the horizon.

I do not buy it. What's my evidence? Well first, this has supposedly been confirmed by Microsoft through their numbers. I do not dispute Microsoft's numbers. I would be more concerned if they were saying the opposite. However, recent posts and listings of new games seems in conflict with this finding. Here's what I think is up:

  1. No doubt there is a slowing. The initial release of Windows Phone 8 and accompanying devices was 6 months ago. The big push for fresh WP8 apps has initially subsided.
  2. We are possibly in a reloading time. New devices are just literally hours from being announced, with more promised for summer announcement and several planned for holiday release with the potential new "Windows Phone Blue" either at year-end or Q1 2014.
  3. Several current Windows Phone 8 releases have now been ported to WP7.8. Further, additional apps have been retooled to allow them to work on the new wave of mid-low end devices such as the Lumia 620, 720 and 521. Is it possible this follow-up work is not included in the listing of new apps? Why would a retooled Angry Birds show up as anything other than an update?
And those have been numerous. Article after article is tweeted regarding XYZ app that is now optimized for WP8 or retrofitted to WP7.x. In fact, the rate of updates, at least from the perspective of this user who has dozens of apps installed points more towards something big on the horizon, not less.

So don't hold your breath for the demise of the platform. Do you suppose that there is anything to be gained by various interests reporting the continuing canard that there are virtually no apps available for the Windows Phone platform after 3 years? Certainly not Google or Apple. And any publication driven by ad clicks and traffic volume might certainly intentionally or as a side benefit prime the pump by repeating such reports.

Let's let the dust settle after these new Nokias and various other phones, both high-end and low-tier join the market. 2 new carriers in the US are featuring Windows Phone in this quarter. Impact much?

Remains to be seen.

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