At first sight, news that Windows Phone 7 now has more than 1,600 apps available on its marketplace is hardly cause for celebration, given the six figure totals both iPhone and Android reportedly boast.

Nonetheless, while much of the platform is pitched at the social side of smartphones, Microsoft is fully aware of just how important both apps and games will be for Windows Phone 7's future.

Topping 1,600 apps at US launch is certainly nothing to be sniffed at, with Italian site MyLostBlog claiming that 427 of them are games.

That's equal to around 26 percent, with the marketplace averaging more than 80 new apps a day - although most were naturally available on day one for its European launch on October 21. 

App acceleration

Previous reports suggest Windows Phone 7 surpassed 1,000 apps at the end of October, with the blog's stats showing an acceleration in the marketplace's total from November 2nd onwards.

MyLostBlog also claims the average price of apps on the platform is €1.19 – around £1.03 or $1.65.

Following the platform's UK launch, figures compiled by Pocket Gamer put the average price of a game on the marketplace at £1.57. In comparison, Distimo numbers put the average price of an App Store app at $4.03 - roughly equal to £2.50.

However, there's a vast distinction between the Xbox Live enabled and non enabled titles.

The average price of standard games came in £1.35, with Xbox Live titles averaging £3.52.

[source: PC World]