Microsoft’s Windows Phone is a great phone OS but one of the biggest problems that keeps getting mentioned is the lack of popular, high-quality apps for the platform. Now a Microsoft spokesperson is trying to paint this picture in a different shade.
Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, Joseph Landes, General Manager in charge of platform evangelism in India, said that Windows Phone is doing very well when it comes to apps and that most people simply have a wrong perception of the platform.
We are not behind. Off course there are certain apps like Candy Crush which is not available on Windows Phone Store. But if you look at apps created by Indian companies or top brands, we have a zero app gap versus competition
Landes pointed out that when it comes to Indian services and apps Windows Phone is doing just as well if not better than the competition, thanks in part to Microsoft"s investments in the country"s tech scene.
He also went on to say that evidently Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store have many more apps but they key differentiator is that Microsoft’s apps are malware free. Landes finally concluded with this:
There is no question about it there are more apps in Google Play Store and iOS. The question is how many apps do you really need? How many calculators do you need?
Now, we’re the first ones to agree that Microsoft has an image problem. It’s always been cool to disparage the company’s products even when they’re actually very good. And now that Windows Phone is a proper, powerful, fully-fledged OS most critics usually resort to the “app gap” issue are their main argument against Microsoft’s efforts.
However, while most “regular” folks will find all the apps they need in the Windows Phone Store, there’s still an obvious issue of quality vs quantity when it comes to the platform’s apps. And ignoring that or straw-manning the argument by talking about malware is definitely not the way Microsoft should be acting.
By all means be proud of your product, dispel wrong impressions and promote your strengths while you keep improving your platform, but be genuine and listen to your community in the process.