Microsoft: Windows Phone market doubled in size in 2012

[Shawn Knight]

Microsoft might not have had the banner year they were hoping for with Windows 8 thus far but it’s hard to overlook the success that Windows Phone has had in 2012. A recent post on the official Windows blog by Microsoft Senior Director for Windows Marketplace Todd Brix highlights some of Microsoft’s most significant achievements in this market.

According to the executive, there are now more apps available for Windows Phone users than ever before although that is to be expected. The company has certified and published more than 75,000 new apps and games this year.

This more than doubles the catalog of apps available to users compared to the same time period a year ago. Developers also pushed out more than 300,000 updates for applications that are already live, we’re told.

On a more detailed level, the average Windows Phone user downloaded 54 apps in 2012 although the breakdown of paid apps versus free apps is unknown. Brix further points out that Microsoft has made it easier for users to discover new apps by implementing elements of Bing search into the Windows Marketplace.

Looking forward, the outlook for the Windows Phone ecosystem looks bright and sunny. Microsoft has already seen an increase in developer revenue month over month which is up 40 percent in the 30 days since the SDK was released. Brix expects that to grow as new hardware and apps with expanded capabilities reach customers.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/51183-microsoft-windows-phone-market-doubled-in-size-in-2012.html

 

[Guest]

I'm not sold on their phones, however I may be ditching my Android tablet in favor of a Windows tablet. I find myself using my Android tablet to connect to and control my Windows computer all the time. This is because multitasking in Android is almost non-existent. I often will stream a TV show, and tile a second window so I can read news at the same time. This is not easy to do in Android, there is one browser which allows it, but it is still very buggy.

Now this is where the problem arises, Windows 8 metro is not designed for multi-tasking either. So I would be using the desktop anyways. I'd much rather a more touch friendly Windows 7 (desktop environment with bigger toolbars etc).

The Samsung ATIV 700T is calling my name however, with the dockable keyboard and 11.6" 1920x1080 screen. I'm just still not sold on Windows 8 metro, as multi-tasking and running x86 Windows applications is what makes choosing a Windows tablet attractive. Microsoft is full of *****s. They need to play to their strengths, don't just copy the other guys. /rant

 

[Guest]

I used a WP7 for 2 years and just switched to android, WP7 lack apps huge same as Win 8, sure it takes time I waited 2 years and microsoft is still asking to invest into the future but pay top dollar for it now.
Sorry no more waiting, with that being said when they get the apps I use I can for sure see myself going back but not till then.

 

[Stephen Rice]

I'm not sold on their phones, however I may be ditching my Android tablet in favor of a Windows tablet. I find myself using my Android tablet to connect to and control my Windows computer all the time. This is because multitasking in Android is almost non-existent. I often will stream a TV show, and tile a second window so I can read news at the same time. This is not easy to do in Android, there is one browser which allows it, but it is still very buggy.

Now this is where the problem arises, Windows 8 metro is not designed for multi-tasking either. So I would be using the desktop anyways. I'd much rather a more touch friendly Windows 7 (desktop environment with bigger toolbars etc).

The Samsung ATIV 700T is calling my name however, with the dockable keyboard and 11.6" 1920x1080 screen. I'm just still not sold on Windows 8 metro, as multi-tasking and running x86 Windows applications is what makes choosing a Windows tablet attractive. Microsoft is full of *****s. They need to play to their strengths, don't just copy the other guys. /rant

If you really want a Win7 tablet Samsung has (had?) the Series 7 Slates with Windows 7, you can probably still find them for sale online (Newegg had them last time I looked) and I have one which I have found very functional only downside is it came with a Wacom digitizer pen (works well) but no way to store on the tablet like the ATIV does with the S-pen.

 

[Guest]

I'm tired of hearing it lacks apps. Just about all apps on ios and Android are on windows phone. A friend of mine wanted to switch so we sat down and tried finding all apps he had on his Droid. He had a hundred so apps with 20 of those being used regularly. What we found that 6 out of the 30 some he had didn't have an app for windows phone, but there were many other apps that did the same thing. And, honestly, how many apps do you need? When it comes to gaming,windows phone takes the cake. You have what you can consider a gaming company making an os for a phone. There are some really good games on wp3. So, stop being lazy an actually look for the apps you want. Not easy to find a few out of 130k. The games on windows phone are much better than android or ios

 

[Guest]

As soon as Verizon gets a really good Win 8 phone, you will see the numbers jump even higher. I hate to say it but there are quite a few people I know waiting for a really good one before taking the plung. Of course they are all with big red.

 

[psycros]

Doubled their market share, eh? So they went from, what..ten customers to twenty?