Windows Phone Store Replaces the Marketplace

Along with the launch of its Windows Phone SDK 8.0 Developer Preview program, Microsoft also debuted a new name for the app portal for Windows Phone, formerly known as the Marketplace.

Starting with today, the storefront will be known as the Windows Phone Store, a move that brings the mobile platform closer to Windows 8, the OS destined for desktops, laptops and tablets.

On the Windows Phone website, which has been modified as well, Microsoft also changed the link to the Marketplace to Apps & Games.

“You’ll also notice the Marketplace menu option has changed to Apps & Games. One reason for this change was to ensure new customers know where to find downloads for their phone,” Microsoft’s Mazhar Mohammed notes in a recent post.

“But the change also hints at something bigger: Starting today we’re retiring the name Marketplace and renaming it the Windows Phone Store. By doing so, we’re following the lead of Windows 8 and its Windows Store for apps and games. The two even share the same Store icon.”

A new name is not the only thing that the applications portal has received. Various other enhancements are also available for users to take advantage of, all meant to enable them to find the apps and games they are looking for easier than before.

For example, there is a better Search box available in the portal, relying on Bing to provide users with search results, a change made as part of an important infrastructure upgrade for the portal.

With the new Search box, users will be able to easier

- Find apps even if you make spelling mistakes or typos—for example, “Facebok” instead of “Facebook”.

- Find similar apps more easily. For example, type “guitar” and you’ll see relevant apps even if they don’t have “guitar” in the title.

- Finds apps in same genre. Type “health” to see apps related to dieting, exercise, and more.

Since it is based on the Bing search algorithm, the search feature is expected to get smarter in time, thus being able to deliver better results to Windows Phone users.