Windows Phone Marketplace Tops 50,000 Apps in 14 Months
Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has a long way to go before it truly challenges Android and iOS for mobile dominance, but after a bit of a rocky start, it might be starting to hit its stride. According to All About Windows Phone (AAWP), one of the go-to blogs for Windows Phone app statistics, the Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 50,000 apps and games.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Windows Phone Marketplace was home to 50,126 apps and growing at a clip of 265 new items per day. Over 17,000 were added in the last three months, and more than 8,000 in the last 30 days.
"The 50,000 mark, which has been reached sooner than we estimated, is a key milestone, but more important is the accelerating growth of the Marketplace," AAWP says. "It took just over a year to get to 40,000 apps, but just 40 days to add the next 10,000 apps. That bodes well for Windows Phone in 2012."
Source: All About Windows Phone
Indeed, if you examine AAWP's above graph on the number of content items from October 2010 until now, you can see a steady climb that doesn't show any signs of plateauing, and that's taking into account the nearly 6,000 apps that Microsoft removed or were withdrawn by the publisher.
In terms of free versus paid apps, Windows Phone users are fans of free apps just like everyone else, and there are plenty to choose from. Over half -- 58 percent -- off apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace are freebie downloads, compared to 29 percent that are paid and 14 percent that are paid with a free trial.
Ready for the reality check? Both Android and iOS have more than half a million apps in their respective stores, which makes 50,000 apps seem like small potatoes. However, let's not overlook the fact that it took Microsoft just 14 months to reach the 50,000 apps milestone, whereas it took Android 19 months to get there (iOS took 12 months). In other words, the Windows Phone Marketplace is right where it should be, historically speaking.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Windows Phone Marketplace was home to 50,126 apps and growing at a clip of 265 new items per day. Over 17,000 were added in the last three months, and more than 8,000 in the last 30 days.
"The 50,000 mark, which has been reached sooner than we estimated, is a key milestone, but more important is the accelerating growth of the Marketplace," AAWP says. "It took just over a year to get to 40,000 apps, but just 40 days to add the next 10,000 apps. That bodes well for Windows Phone in 2012."
Source: All About Windows Phone
Indeed, if you examine AAWP's above graph on the number of content items from October 2010 until now, you can see a steady climb that doesn't show any signs of plateauing, and that's taking into account the nearly 6,000 apps that Microsoft removed or were withdrawn by the publisher.
In terms of free versus paid apps, Windows Phone users are fans of free apps just like everyone else, and there are plenty to choose from. Over half -- 58 percent -- off apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace are freebie downloads, compared to 29 percent that are paid and 14 percent that are paid with a free trial.
Ready for the reality check? Both Android and iOS have more than half a million apps in their respective stores, which makes 50,000 apps seem like small potatoes. However, let's not overlook the fact that it took Microsoft just 14 months to reach the 50,000 apps milestone, whereas it took Android 19 months to get there (iOS took 12 months). In other words, the Windows Phone Marketplace is right where it should be, historically speaking.
