With the tepid release of Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft also released their answer to the iPhone App Store, Windows Mobile Marketplace. And once again it seems like the developers themselves seen to have missed the boat. Apparently they have never seen nor heard of the App Store.
What is the death knell of the Marketplace? PRICE!!! There are way too many applications in this store that are more than $2.99. If you browse through the App Store most every app is a dollar or two and selling in droves. This is not a new problem. As far back as 2003, there were applications for a mobile device that were selling for $30 dollars! Sadly, some apps still are. I’m sorry but I just cannot justify a small password holding program costing me as much as a full on piece of software for my desktop. What is worse about this is that most of these programs look and feel horrible.
There seems to be a few developers in the store that either are also developing for the iPhone or have watched it. They have priced their applications to a more palatable scale. Others seem to want to extort the WinMo users with higher prices. For example Namco Pac Man – iPhone 4.99 WinMo 6.99.
Please can we get some developers to create some compelling, beautiful, and cheap programs for the WinMo platform. And to Microsoft, you need to do whatever you can to compel and help developers to get to that point. Otherwise WinMo will totally fall out of favor with consumers and the iPhone and Android will slay it (as if they weren’t already).