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Windows Phone hits 300k apps, but is it enough?

Microsoft has almost doubled the number of apps for Windows Phone in the past year, but is it enough to catch up to Apple and Google?

Microsoft has just announced that the Windows Phone Store now packs a mighty 300 thousand apps, almost double the number from last year. What’s more, the number of new apps hitting the store is swiftly accelerating, with current rates hitting 200 thousand a year. But is this growth enough to compete against the App Store and Google Play?

Windows Phone Store number of apps in 2014 hits 300 thousand

Although this growth is certainly encouraging, Windows Phone still has a long way to go to catch up to Apple and Google. The App Store and Google Play boast around 1.25 million apps each, over four times the number of Microsoft’s virtual shop. But of course, quantity and quality are two entirely different things. More importantly, the Windows Phone store is still missing a lot of big names, with many top-tier developers skipping it entirely and concentrating on iOS and Android instead.

Still, with Windows Phone snatching up more market share each passing year, it’s perfectly possible that developers could start taking the platform more seriously soon. And if the major companies start putting out Windows Phone versions of their apps at the same time as iOS and Android, one of the platform’s last remaining weaknesses will be wiped out. It’s certainly encouraging to hear that the number of active developers for Microsoft’s OS has risen by 50% in the last year.

Windows Phone users also have the big WP 8.1 Update to look forward to before the end of the year, adding some cool new features including Cortana for us Brits. We’ve already spent some time with the lovely virtual assistant, although we’re not too keen on her personality overhaul – check out our Cortana UK review for our full thoughts.

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