Windows Phone is now well over a year old and the number of apps keeps on rising, which got me thinking….
I want some feedback from you guys about this, so go and leave a comment letting me know what your thoughts are.
Now there are so many apps, do you still use the marketplace much? I’ve found I don’t even bother looking in the marketplace app or through Zune because they are only small windows into the many many apps out there. I uploaded a game called TouchMeQuick very soon after the marketplace opened, but I wonder if anyone would ever come across it now without specifically searching for it. There are app discovery apps, such as the fantastic AppFlow, but I still think there needs to be a better way.
Having so many apps in the marketplace causes problems for both users and developers, because so many apps are just lost amongst the crowd.
So, my questions to you are:
Do you still use the marketplace on a regular basis?
How do you think Microsoft could make it easier to browse apps?
Gavin Bondurant
Schlubadub
Sweet
WinPhan7
den
Mischa
Vernon Smith
Me
Siddhartha Kumar
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I think there should at least be a ‘random’ function in the marketplace, which shows you a list of random apps/games.
I downloaded and played ‘Touch Me Quick’ I got it via the 1800 app dev link
Ive found many apps since my obtaining my lumia 800 via the ‘App Highlights’ app that was pre-loaded on the phone.
I think that Microsoft should target apps to users based on their download history with a kind of randomizer, then the apps in topics you are into are displayed to show the diversity of the devs
RECOMMENDATIONS, there need to be real people at Microsoft looking at the apps uploaded and saying, well this is just a better version of something that’s already out there, so it should be recommended to anyone who has that app installed, or people who like this might also like this. And I don’t think that any algorithm can quite fulfill this task.
The marketplace on the phone and in zune is infuriating as it doesn’t remember where you are in the search results. i.e. show games, switch to free list, scroll 5 pages, view an item, press back, scream that you’re now at page 1 of the default games list and have to do it all again. It does seem to remember the position the first few times though which is weird.
But I’ve had my phone for a year and have all the apps and games I want. I usually just check the latest deals and app reviews on sites like this one. [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
“I usually just check the latest deals and app reviews on sites like this one. [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]” – this comment tastes good.
Discovering New and Cool apps through the Marketplace is just not intuitive, which is why i rely on sites like 1800PocketPC to come across good apps.
Like one of the other commenters said what would be ideal is a more dynamic site recommending quality apps its viewers on a more frequent basis.
The marketplace is good if you know exactly the app you are looking for by name. But discovring apps via the marketplace is either hit or miss. And the hassle of installing app, trying it out and then uninstalling if you are not satisfied is so tedious
Oh, do I have a problem with the Marketplace!!! Do I ever!!!!!!
To first explain myself, I am all about “OFFICIAL” apps. I am always in search of what apps come to Windows Phone from the ORIGINAL SOURCE. Some that are with us now that come to mind… ESPN, AP Mobile, Epicurious, Avis, Best Buy, Bank of America, eBay, Cracked… you get the point. All of these apps are “OFFICIAL”.
What I CANNOT stand are all these crap apps!! Get to the Marketplace and search, “CNN”. Enough said!! How many devs want to rehash the same thing in their own way? While there are some apps that might be better than the original (say, 4th and Mayor over Foursquare… or MyTrips over TripIt), I’m still all about the “OFFICIAL” thing.
I say, if you are not in any way affiliated with the company, website, whatever, you want to make an app for, you CAN’T submit it to the Marketplace. No more silly RSS readers all about Justin Bieber, or a sports team, etc. etc…..
I’m all for and all about quality over quantity. Even if you have to eliminate like 10 actually good, unofficial apps (BBC News, NBA Pro ’12 etc…) for the 1,000 unofficial ones, do it!
I’ve had my Omnia 7 since the start and the best and most frequently used app on my phone is this one! I have some games that I haven’t finished yet and so I don’t need to find new ones yet. And as for apps, I just can’t think of anything that I want on my phone and browsing the marketplace randomly is just a waste of time.
There is only a few times that I open the market place.
1st is when an update is around, then I’m likely to check out the latest game offerings from Microsoft (both new or on sale games).
2nd is when you guys say this game or app is good, so I go take a look.
And lastly, I’ll go searching the marketplace when I have a need for an app right then and there, but in most cases I can’t find anything.
I’m also a developer and I want to develop something for the phones, but I can never think of anything useful to make and I don’t want to make crapps (I want to make something I will use as well)!!
[Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
Personally I love the small marketplace. It needs some more apps but in general its nice. But look at the Facebook app reviews. One of the most downloaded apps, and the reviews are scary. God they need to fix that [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
There is a ton of junk on the Marketplace, and it is hard to sort through. When I hear that Android has half a million apps, I wonder how much worse things are there.
I do browse the Marketplace from tine to time. As one reader already noted, it’s annoying how there’s no bookmark feature to remember your place when browsing. A “Hide from future searches” box might be nice too. Most of my favorite apps I’ve found through recommendations online. [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
Will i am a developer and i think the Marketplace need a huge amount of enhancements, it needs to have recommendation from staff , top count (top, 25, 50, 75, 100), and a fix to Marketplace app navigation as its a little bit misleading and not organized for Example:
click on all apps you will get featured, click on apps you will get apps and games????
They need to make the gold rush as in Apple’s app store , make apps shine more through numbers, 1- Facebook, 2- Accuweather…etc
And they should fix bugs, navigation, reviews not updated, ranks are not update regularly.
Maybe a featured page for each category listing 10 or so featured apps for that category for the week would be good. There is no way to dig up these buried apps unless they appear in the featured, New and top categories when browsing the marketplace.
Microsoft need to roll through the apps somehow so they all get browse time in the marketplace main categories.
I have marketplace pinned to my start screen and look into it all the time. I love that it has all the main categories and it highlights all the best and quickest access to plenty of apps… =D [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]