Angry Birds Go, Minion Rush, and 200,000 other Windows Phone 8 apps

While America slept, it looking like the Windows Phone platform is growing up.

for a while now, the only reason #1 Son would pick up either his Mom or siblings iDevices or my iPad2, is to play Gameloft’s Minion Rush, a situation he hated.

No longer.

Now, he he can enjoy that game or Angry Birds Go on his Lumia 928.

At the same time, the number of apps in the Windows Phone Store now exceeds 200,000.

That’s quite nice, and bodes well for the platform.

However, my enthusiasm for that number is tempered by the fact that it has taken Microsoft all of 18 months – from June 2012 - to double the app count.

Believe me, there isn’t any doubt in my mind that the reason why a lot of potential independent app developers weren’t gung ho for Windows Phone was the cost of becoming a developer.

It was have been very obvious to any diatom that a platform coming in from the cold with two monstrous incumbents would have to do anything to attract developers.

Alas, it wasn’t obvious to Microsoft executives, despite the strategic nature of the Windows Phone platform.

Inexplicably, it apparently wasn’t obvious to members of the Windows Phone team as well!

Well, maybe until earlier this year, when the developer registrations fees were dropped.

© 2002 – 2013, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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