Microsoft: Windows Phone still missing “key apps”

Microsoft has admitted it is still missing some “key apps” for Windows Phone devices.

One of the sore points for Windows Phone in the past has been its inability to offer consumers the big name apps.

Although the platform has managed to pin down some of the big names in apps like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, it is still having some trouble attracting the most popular games and apps for the Windows Phone platform.

“We know that there are some key apps that we’ve got to go get and we’ve got to convince those developers that they can succeed when they bring their apps to the platform”, said Matt Collins, Global Director of Applications and Partner Marketing at Microsoft.

“But we see that across the board that there is really, really good representation, of high quality apps. Maybe not all of them from names you know, but it’s almost inevitable when you have 300,000 apps in the store you’re going to find, across every single category, an equal.”

Windows Phone 8.1 might not have all the big names but there has certainly been an increased interest in the platform over the past year, particularly since Microsoft bought out Nokia earlier in 2014.

“When you look at the applications that have come into the ecosystem,
[the industry has] certainly responded [to Windows Phone], certainly
over the last year or so, by bringing a lot of the key apps that
consumers now come to expect when they buy a phone.”

While Microsoft is still looking at getting those well-known apps on the platform, the company has been working to introduce more innovative apps that are unique to Windows Phone.

“Often, at times when we talk to developers, their conversation turns to how can they can innovate. Our emphasis has been about helping those people and giving them the tools to do amazing things.

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