Wanted: Windows Phone Apps

For well over four years now, Windows Phone users like myself have been forced to abandon product or service purchases because of an inherent lack of Windows support. It is a frustrating problem, since Windows Phones are used by millions the world over, and even more so than the iPhone in some countries. So, there really is no excuse for the lack of support for Windows mobile phones from manufacturers and ISVs alike.

In all probability, the real reason for the deficiency of Windows apps produced by software and hardware manufacturers is simply cost. Developing software is an expensive and time consuming process, not to mention continuing support of the product or service itself. Consequently, adding an additional operating system version or app can be cost prohibitive for some vendors, but certainly not all.

Therein lies the rub, so to speak. Software (and hardware) vendors are reluctant to develop an app where the perceived market is small. They naturally gravitate to dominate markets such as Android or iPhone, where literally multimillions of users reside. But that will not always be the case and possibly very soon, especially if Microsoft convinces vendors to write more Windows apps for its powerful new lineup of Windows Phones.

Enter the Window 10 based mobile phone or Windows Phone to be more precise. Others in the industry are now predicting it will soon be called the Surface Phone, after the highly successful market entry of the Windows Surface tablet. But that is besides the point. The whole premise of these new phones is there ability to run a full-blown dynamically modified copy of Windows on any device.

Microsoft recently revamped the Windows operating system to run across a bevy of hardware devices ranging from desktops to mobile phones without recompilation or translation. In geek parlance, and for all intents and purposes, it is essentially a write once, run many application development environment called the Universal Windows Platform or UWP.

Essentially, it is a Windows developer’s dream that’s finally come true; and for software and hardware vendors it is an opportunity to strike out into new markets, especially if the Windows Phone finally takes hold. And that folks, is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question, so to speak. Windows or Microsoft pundits have all but written off the Windows Phone, and to a certain degree, so has Microsoft. Think Nokia.

Truth be told, Microsoft is not a quitter. Their tenacity is legendary. Despite all the news about the failure of the Windows Phone, its gigantic Nokia write-off or loss and the enormous upheaval of the company in general, I would be willing to bet that the Windows Phone is here to stay. That is due largely to the fact that Microsoft finally solved one of the most complex problems in the IT industry--and that is--how to make an operating system run on any Intel based device.

And for that single achievement, Microsoft will most likely be a major player in the mobile space in the near future. Software and hardware vendors should take notice and begin writing Windows Universal Apps for Windows 10 based phones in order to adequately support the entire public, not just Apple and Android device users.

Besides, competition is a good thing. I’m certain that Microsoft’s reentry into the mobile space with the Surface Phone this coming Spring will spur innovation in the mobile marketplace, not thwart it. So vendors, add Windows Phone apps to your repertoire and reap the profits that will most likely ensue in the coming years. We'll all be better off for it.