14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s newly-released Windows Store is growing up at a fairly slow pace right now, as there are around 20,000 apps available worldwide, but it’s only available for Windows 8 users exclusively.
While there’s also a browser-based version of the Store that allows you to view the description and the available screenshots of the listed apps, it all comes down to a simple interface and brief information.
This full-featured version of the Store, however, allows you to browse the available apps in the same way you do on a Windows 8 device without actually requiring Microsoft’s new operating system.
It’s called MetroStore Scanner and is entirely browser-based, which means that you only need a browser to check out the Windows Store apps.
The really helpful feature is that it scans all local versions of the Windows Store and lets you filter them by country. You can, for instance, view the apps available only for German users, or simply browse all apps released worldwide.
Just like in the Windows 8-based store, this service comes with a search feature to quickly look for a specific app, but also with a dedicated “Details” button to load the app in the official browser-based Windows Store released by Microsoft.
Interestingly, the MetroStore Scanner also shows a few important statistics concerning the Store, revealing that there are more than 25,000 apps available right now worldwide. While this is clearly an unofficial figure, it’s very likely to be accurate, as some other trackers suggested that nearly 20,000 apps were available last week.
Microsoft, on the other hand, expects the number of apps submitted to the Store to skyrocket in the next couple of months before eventually reaching a record 100,000. Even though it may seem like Microsoft is a bit too optimistic, it’s not entirely impossible, as source familiar with the matter have previously suggested that several hundreds of apps are submitted to the Store every day.