Windows Phone Marketplace Surpasses 70,000 Apps

Sites include Microsoft.com . Published on April 13th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

When it comes to App stores, nobody does it quite like Apple, and so when App store success is measured, it is done on a completely different standard.

Take Microsoft’s Windows Phone for example; it has just surpassed the 70,000 Apps mark. Now this is of course a milestone, but when you compare that to the tens of thousands of Apps that can be found in Apple’s Apps store (even Android) the number looks rather paltry.

Still, Microsoft seems genuinely happy about the achievement. As far back as December of 2011, the company has been boasting about the climb in numbers and even announced in January that the Apps store had gone past the 60K Apps mark. It looks too that Microsoft is deliberately keeping its Apps directory on the low side, preferring it seems to have fewer Apps but with higher quality.

It is important to note though that while Microsoft may be keen to turn the Apps industry on its head, numbers are what determine success. From a developer’s perspective, it will always be more feasible to build Apps for the marketplace with the greatest reach and leverage. If Microsoft is going to attract quality developers it needs to bear this in mind.

Is 70,000 Apps something to write home about? Let us know below.