I think we can safely say that Windows Phone 7s success will rely heavily on the applications that will be developed for it. Apps are the corner stone of every operating system, mobile or otherwise. A mobileOS is like a blank canvas and apps are like the different types and colors of paints available out there. But until you throw some paint on a canvas, its just a canvas. You can have low grade and high grade canvases but a crappy canvas with a some decent brushwork trumps a laminated blank canvas pretty much any day of the week. My iPhone is a decent phone and I like it just fine, but could you imagine using it, or any other phone for that matter, without any apps? Think about how limited it would become. Theres a reason why Apple, Google, and Microsoft have all flaunted the number of apps their OSes possess at one point or another. Apps are clearly essential to the mobile experience, and so is having a fast, efficient way for people to browse through them all.
So assuming Windows Phone 7 does succeed, were going to have a lot of apps populating the Marketplace. Having lots of apps to choose from is great. More diversity means, more competition, and better quality stuff. That capitalism right? This all sounds great in theory, but in practice its not so nice.
Lets take a look at Apples Appstore. I like the paint analogy, so were going to stick with it. Think of an AppStore like the paint section at your local home improvement superstore. How do they usually set it up? They line the walls with different colored paints from different brands. Do you think you can find a paint similar to something you want alone? Sure! But its much harder to find the exact color you want without some help. Likewise, I have a very hard time sorting through all the different types of applications that are out there. This isnt the case if I am looking for a particular application, since I can search for it by name. However, lets say I want a new game, but Im not sure which one to get. I can type in game and see what comes up, or I can go to the game section. If we choose the latter, we are greeted by a splattering of sub-categories like New and Noteworthy, Whats Hot and Gripping Stories. You can also choose to just look at paid or free apps. This is all simple enough and makes logical sense from a layout perspective. But from a user perspective, its a complete nightmare! What the hell does Whats Hot mean? Does that mean popular? Does popular mean the most downloaded or most played? Or what if Im stuck between 2 recipe apps and they both look nice. One costs $1.99 and the other $5.99. How will I choose? Does more expensive equal better quality? Not always, and even if it did, is quality boast worth the additional $4?
My choices are limited with Apple. I can try and find a free version of the app(which isnt always the case) and see if I like it, read the ratings, or search online for more reviews. All helpful, but not absolute. What one person loves another hates. So how can we deal with all this? Well Microsofts trial solution was quite elegant and effective. I simply love it. The ability to try the full app, no strings attached, lets me know for sure if I like it, and more importantly, if I like it enough to pay for it. Such a simple solution to a big problem. Apple has seen the wisdom of this idea and has added a Try before you Buy section to their Appstore. Although from what I can gather, its just a collection of free apps that also have paid versions. Its not nearly as comprehensive as Microsofts solution but more like a stop-gap measure until Apple can figure out their own solution.
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