14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently announced that its new Windows Store has passed the 100,000 app mark, only a few days after the company’s BUILD developer conference in San Francisco.
CEO Steve Ballmer said during the event that he expected the Windows Store to achieve this goal in the coming weeks, but it appears that the company has actually managed to kick off July with another important announcement.
At the same time, Microsoft has also confirmed the development of some new exciting Metro apps, including a Facebook client that would allow users to access their profiles from the Modern UI. Flipboard and Rhapsody will also develop Windows 8 apps.
Windows 8 has reached the 100,000 app figure in just seven months after launch, which is faster than the Windows Phone Store, which needed no less than 18 months to do the same thing.
What’s more, Apple announced 100,000 iPad tools in the App Store 14 months after the debut of the service, while Android completed the task in 18 months.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Windows Store is a top-notch service. It all comes down to the overall quality of the apps offered to users, and even if both Steve Ballmer and Windows boss Julie Larson-Green have emphasized that the app count is not a priority, the amount of useless tools available in the Store right now is unbelievable.
On the other hand, the Redmond-based software maker is forming partnerships with several organizations and companies across the world to bring more high-quality apps in the Windows Store and thus provide users with Metro alternatives for traditional desktop solutions.
Just yesterday the company announced an agreement with the Independent Software Vendors to boost the development of apps specifically designed for work-related purposes.
The new partnership is called AppsForSurface and is supposed to “provide devices and funding for app design intended to get key enterprise apps on Surface and Windows 8,” as Microsoft explained.