Windows Phone Marketplace has 25,000 apps

By Jeffrey Van Camp Published July 1, 2011

windows-phone-marketplace-apps-chart-2011 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There was a time when 25,000 apps was a lot, but that was a year or two ago. Today, you need at least 200,000 or 300,000 apps to be taken seriously. Still, to those who think Microsoft’s smartphone OS isn’t getting any traction in the consumer market, this is a sign that developers do still believe in the future of the OS.

According to new stats on WindowsPhoneApplist.com, the Marketplace has crossed 25,000 apps in just 8 months and 10 days. For comparison, it took the iPhone 8 months and 6 days to reach 25,000 apps. As for the Android Market, it took Google about 15 months to hit the milestone.

Recommended Videos

What we don’t know is how good these apps are. All of the smartphone OS makers keep touting the raw numbers, but what good are 300,000 apps if 290,000 of them are terrible?

For fun, here are a few more stats:

75 percent of the apps are in English
18 percent of the apps are games
51 percent of apps are free
There are about 7,000 published app developers

Topics

Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

Mobile

Apple may do the unthinkable — allow third-party iPhone app stores

App Store displayed on an iPhone 14 Pro against a pink background

Ever since 2008, Apple has only allowed its own App Store on the iPhone. In the past, if you wanted alternative digital storefronts, you’d have to jailbreak your device. But in response to impending regulations from the European Union, Apple may be allowing alternative app stores on the iPhone and iPad in the near future — potentially as soon as iOS 17 in 2023.

According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, this will be the very first time that Apple will allow third-party app stores on the iPhone. It seems that Apple is already dedicating a “significant amount of resources to the companywide endeavor.”

Mobile

Ads won’t ruin your iPhone’s App Store — they may actually improve it

apple app store third party payment allow ugly side reality render

Apple sent out a note this week to app developers confirming that more advertising could be coming to the iPhone App Store in time for the holiday season. With the amount of advertising that already permeates the modern internet, the news has raised concerns that iPhone owners may soon find themselves wading through a sea of ads before they can find the app they’re looking for.

Anything can happen, so I can’t rule out the possibility that Apple could go too far on this one. However, I remain cautiously optimistic that Apple’s expanded advertising initiatives won’t ruin the App Store experience. It might even enhance it.
Apple’s App Store advertising ambitions
When you think of online advertising, Apple isn’t usually the first company that comes to mind. Most folks wouldn’t even include it in the top five. Other tech giants like Google, Meta (previously Facebook), and Amazon are generally the ones on the online advertising leaderboard.

Computing

Your Phone in Windows 11 now shows recent apps

A laptop sits on a desk with a Windows 11 wallpaper.

Microsoft's latest feature aims to create better integration between Samsung and Windows devices by allowing users to access their recent Android apps through the System Tray on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

The feature displays a "Your Phone" icon in the System Tray on the Windows desktop, allowing users to see the last applications recently accessed through their phone. Selecting any of the recent icons will then project the application on the desktop while it is running natively on the smartphone. There is also an option for users to pull up all of their mobile applications to view on their Windows device.