An update on Microsoft’s “by the numbers” page this week has revealed the computer giant’s mobile platform is now home to over 300,000 apps, more than doubling in size since February last year when it announced it had 130,000 apps available for users.
The company has been doing what it can to expand its app store, over the last year or so offering cash rewards to developers who launch apps on Windows Phone, as well as an incentive program for Unity developers who bring their games to the platform.
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Significantly, an increasing number of mainstream apps which were missing in the early stages following the launch of Windows Phone in 2010 are finally coming to the platform, a gradual change that Microsoft executives hope will help to drive sales of its handsets, which in turn should encourage more developers to take an interest in the platform.
However, a study conducted last month indicated there is still much progress to be made, with only six of the top 25 free apps in the iOS app store available on the Windows Phone platform.
Google’s Play store for Android mobile devices hit the million mark in August last year, while Apple’s iOS store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch reached the same figure a couple of months later.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s app store for its growing range of Fire devices, its new handset among them, hit 240,000 apps in the last couple of months, suggesting an increasing number of developers are working to bring their mobile software to all the major platforms.
[Via WP Central]
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