14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone 7, the new mobile operating system that Redmond-based software giant brought to shelves in October last year, was launched with less than 1,000 applications available for download for its early adopters.
Although the application ecosystem was small, Microsoft was set to support app development the best way possible, and it seems that it indeed managed to make important steps in this direction.
Six months later, the Windows Phone Marketplace crosses the 15,000 applications mark, at least this is what the latest stats from WP7AppList show.
The software ecosystem around Windows Phone is expanding, and it is expected to continue do so for the next few years as well.
A wide range of developers did commit to bringing new apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace, and it seems that they managed to do so, but this is only the beginning for them and for the mobile OS.
During the MIX11 conference, Microsoft confirmed that the number of developers who registered for delivering applications for the mobile OS is nearing the 40K mark.
Moreover, the company unveiled at that time that there were over 13k applications available for download through the software portal.
The apps range from utilities to games, from RSS readers and mobile clients for some of the most popular social networks to IM apps and Internet browsers, and more, including music and video apps.
Over 40 percent of the applications in the Marketplace are free, which makes sense, given the fact that Microsoft allows developers to add 100 free apps without charging them a penny.
Many of the paid applications include trials, which offer users the possibility to make an idea of what the software offers before making a purchase.
In May, Microsoft would release a new version of the Windows Phone Developer Tools, which should pave the road to the building of apps for the next WP release, Mango (recently rumored to arrive as 7.5).
The new tools should provide developers with access to more phone resources, while enabling new features to be added in new applications.
Moreover, the company aims at putting in place new distribution models, including the pushing of beta and private apps to users.
All these would certainly speed up the building of apps for Windows Phone, helping the Marketplace become the third mobile app portal in the world sooner than expected.