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Windows Phone: 130,000 apps and counting

Users downloading an average of 55 apps each

Windows Phone: 130,000 apps and counting
On the back of what Microsoft claims was a quadrupling of Windows Phone sales in the fourth quarter of 2012, app submissions to the platform have also been similarly boosted.

The giant has revealed that Windows Phone Store now plays host to a total of 130,000 apps, with 15,000 having been specifically re-tooled for Windows Phone 8, which launched at the end of October.

The increased number of apps available – and, indeed, volume of consumers sampling them – means downloads themselves are also on the up, increasing by 75 percent in all, with paid app revenue jumping by 91 percent.

Numbers game

On average, Microsoft claims each Windows Phone user downloads a total of 55 apps each.



"By now, you are familiar with our strategy of fostering an ecosystem around Windows Phone: an ecosystem characterised by quality, scale and developer opportunity," details Microsoft's Todd Brix on the firm's Windows Phone blog.

"This strategy is taking root at an accelerated pace with partners and developers reporting real and sustained growth following the launch of Windows Phone 8."

Brix claims IDC figures suggest Windows Phone now boasts a market share of 10 percent in many major territories – a significant rise on the less than one percent hand Microsoft held on to during the handover from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone 7.

Indeed, Kantar Worldpanel recently reported that Windows Phone has slipped past BlackBerry to take third spot in both the US and UK.

You can find out more about the growth of the Windows Phone Store in our recent infographic.

[source: Microsoft]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.