Windows Store Starving for Popular Apps: Study

A new report says Microsoft's own digital distribution center, the Windows Store, contains roughly half of the world's most popular applications. It's more bad news for Microsoft, which continues its struggle to lure mobile consumers away from the iOS and Android platforms.

The study was conducted by Nick Landry, a product manager and Microsoft expert at New Jersey development firm Infragistics.

Landry, whose company builds user interface development tools, based his "must-have" list on the top 100 iOS apps. He then went to the Google Play and Windows Store digital outlets to see how many of those apps were available for download.

Just Over Half of Most Popular iOS Downloads Available

The major finding: only 54 per cent of the most popular apps can be found in Microsoft's Windows Store.

It's a discovery many industry insiders won't find particularly surprising.

"Most of the top apps are still not supported by Windows 8," noted Patrick Moorhead, Moore Insights & Strategy's principal analyst. "Even when Microsoft rounds out the catalog, Windows 8 will have a lingering perception issue with consumers." (Source: computerworld.com)

However, for his part Landry says he's impressed with what Microsoft has done in such a short period of time. After all, the Windows Store only launched in late 2012.

"I don't know about you, but for a new platform that is less than a year old, having 100,000 [total] apps -- including 54% of the top 100 apps -- is not bad at all," Landry insisted. (Source: infragistics.com)

Facebook, HBO, ESPN App Support Lacking: Analyst

Moorhead, however, isn't buying it. He says Microsoft has been working on building up app support for the Windows Store since it first unveiled Windows 8 to developers in September 2011.

"I reject the notion that it's been less than a year," Moorhead said. "It's been two years."

"Windows 8 still doesn't support the No. 1 social app, Facebook, the No. 1 paid-content app, HBO GO, the No. 1 sports app, Watch ESPN," Moorhead added.

"These, and others, are the same apps that I've been griping about for over a year, and they're still not supported." (Source: computerworld.com)