Microsoft has another reason to celebrate as the number of apps available for download from the Windows Phone Store has reached a new milestone. More than 300,000 apps have already been developed and approved for the Windows Phone platform that can run on smartphones and tablets as of June 2014.
This is definitely a good development as there were only 200,000 apps last December 2013. Another 100k developed within eight months are impressive although the number is still far from the number of Android and iOS apps available out there.
The Windows Phone Store is growing at a fast rate but it's interesting to see how it will reach the million-apps mark like the iOS store and the Play Store. It seems Microsoft's call for developers and give them cash rewards have succeeded. Aside from the rewards, Microsoft also launched an incentive program for Unity developers to bring games to the Windows Phone mobile OS.
There are "hundreds more are being added every day" and "Windows Phone Store has already seen two billion downloads of apps and games," according to Microsoft.
The new milestone is expected to bring more sales to Microsoft. Since there are now more apps ready for download, more people could be enticed to buy a Windows Phone device.
With this development, the more popular app developers are now looking at developing apps for Windows Phone. For example, the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is also expected to come to Windows Phone after the Android and iOS versions are released.
The Windows Phone OS was launched in 2010 but it's only this year that mainstream apps are coming to the platform. Microsoft may not be certain about the future of Windows Phone but there seems to be support coming from the mobile industry.
Microsoft still has a lot of work to do before it reaches the million-apps mark of both Android and iOS. It might take them years but nothing is impossible.
Android and iOS app developers should focus their attention now on the Windows Phone platform as another possible source of income. Those earning top dollars from the mainstream apps on Google Play and the App Store especially should heed the call of Microsoft and earn more.
