One of the highlights of the Windows 8 OS is the expansiveness of the Windows Store. Microsoft built up the marketplace quickly to offer more than 20,000 apps within the first month of operation. Data from Distimo, a company tracking app analytics, showed that the daily download volume of the top 300 apps in the Windows Store is three times greater than the downloads of the top 300 Mac App Store selections. However, the important qualifier for that finding is that many of those Windows 8 downloads are free, meaning the store isn’t nearly as valuable as the Apple App Store. In fact, about 86 percent of the offerings in the Windows Store don’t cost a penny.
Distimo provided other interesting insights about the Windows Store, noting that the available apps cater about evenly to tablets and PCs. It’s a big contrast to the App Store, which has just 13,000 selections for the Mac and a whopping 275,000 apps just for iPad. Microsoft has also pushed the local angle for its apps with the new store. More than 10 percent of those top 300 apps are popular in a specific geographic market. Just 65 percent of the Windows Store offerings are U.S. only, compared with 85 percent or more for other platforms. So while the money isn’t pouring in from apps, Microsoft has latched onto a strategy that seems to have a good chance for success.
There’s an interesting split in the purpose of OS X/iOS apps and Windows apps. The Apple App Store has made a hefty chunk of change on games for iPhones and the iPad, whereas not only are the bulk of the Windows apps free, but they seem to have a different focus. Many of the top Windows 8 apps are either designed for productivity or easier use of your Windows 8 device, or they are apps tied to popular websites. It is a subtle indication that Microsoft machines and the people who use them still have a serious edge.
Source: TechCrunch
Windows 8 is fast but metro is useless on a normal computer. Touch screens do not beat the productivity of a mouse and keyboard when you need to do real work.
Yeah i agree. On a not-touchscreen-computer, Metro is really almost useless. And it doesn’t have a classic start button, so it’s kinda annoying when you want to open a program and have to search it first in the Metro.
People don’t like change and they say bad stuff cause they are too lazy to learn it. I am very happy with the release of Windows 8 and it is just the beginning. Microsoft was asleep all this time, it has awaken.
Didn’t any of U know…U can also hook it 2 Ur Big Flat Screen TV!
look windows need their own exclusive apps. try making apps that shows what the windows 8 phones can do. not a direct port of android/ipad apps bro……i want to show off a exclusive app that only windos have. like a official remote into your windows computer with a cool interface. or even stream all your content from your DVR to your phone?
I bought an Acer touch screen laptop and would not use Windows 8 otherwise. The dual layer Metro with classic desktop is dumb. I tried some apps like the default mail app and it for one, is nothing. Glad Google has their search and chrome apps for it or I’d go to a chrome book ‘shiver’.
UGH STOP. PLEASE….
Bought a windows 8 laptop took it back 3 days later. Thats my windows 8 experience.
I’m passing on the garbage that is Windows8. I’m not dropping a wad of cash for two 24″ touch screens just so I can get touchy.
The thing is, none of those apps should require a fee at all since they are all free on other platforms.
But should there be paid-apps for developer incentive? Absolutely. It wouldn’t be a (healthy) ecosystem without the economy to back it up.
But revenue is a different story
True Matt. For me who would consider a monitor upgrade for some win8 features since I’ve already upgraded the laptop; I’d need both a good deal on a minimum 25″ screen and MUCH better description of what monitors are win8 ready on the many websites. Most that I’ve seen just aren’t putting out that info yet. Big mistake for Xmas season.