WINDOWS PHONE APPS POSE QUESTIONS FOR COMMS INDUSTRY
It’s a brave new world for Microsoft on the heels of launching Windows 8, rolling out new Windows Phones and developing a tablet to rival Apple’s iPad. But that brave new world may throw app developers and marketers into a tailspin as they anticipate translating Android and iPhone apps to Windows.
Microsoft’s profit share in the app development market has grown 600% over the past year and now meets Android app for app. The expected boom in Windows Phone sales will present a dilemma for the communications industry on two fronts: how to effectively promote apps on a new platform and how to translate industry-based apps for use on Windows Phones.
These apps may not be available on the Windows Phone Store. Easing that crossover is the newly-debuted AppSwitch, developed by Cameron Fisher, which will allow Windows Phone users to easily search for Windows-friendly versions of Apple and Android apps. It also allows app developers and marketers to post both the Windows and Android or iPhone version of their apps for access via search. For marketers promoting mobile apps, this will help the transition after years spent focusing on the non-Microsoft market.
AppSwitch though, is a searching tool, which will benefit users seeking alternatives for popular apps, but for more niche products, such as apps geared at communications professionals, the Windows Phone may yet be out of reach. Social Media Ltd.’s iPhone-only app, for example, is a cohesive media analysis and aggregation tool designed for mobile and geared at PR and marketing professionals.