Database Users

Will Windows Mobile ever....

Get applications like you can get for the iPhone?
I have just had a 'demo' of a load of free apps for the Iphone on a colleagues Iphone and I must admit I was impressed and very surprised, I had always discounted the Iphone as an option for me due to the many (well documented) short commings for power users. However after seeing such applications as the Tioti TV+ which is so quick and smooth and lets you send remote record requests to a Sky+ box - somehting I have been desperate for. Along with great film and cinema applications and many other very neat applications which aren't available on Windows Mobile, I am begining to wonder if I made the wrong decision in purchassing my touch HD??!
Just thought I would share my thoughts with you all....I am sure I will get a barrage of abuse for this post, but would love to know if we think the future of windows mobile may include some more intuitive and consistently looking applications.
P.S. If anyone knows of a SKY+ remote record app which is designed for Windows Mobile I would love to know!

A related question from a relative novice when it comes to downloading and installing apps... is there anything like the iPhone appstore for Windows mobile apps - where applications are listed with screenshots, descriptions, what phones/resolution they work on, etc? I've seen lots of great home-grown apps, and lots of vendor websites that seem to be pedalling a specific product, but haven't seen anything that attempts to bring it all together?
Thanks,
Dave

davehodgkinson said:
A related question from a relative novice when it comes to downloading and installing apps... is there anything like the iPhone appstore for Windows mobile apps - where applications are listed with screenshots, descriptions, what phones/resolution they work on, etc? I've seen lots of great home-grown apps, and lots of vendor websites that seem to be pedalling a specific product, but haven't seen anything that attempts to bring it all together?
Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.handango.com for example....

jrshodges said:
Get applications like you can get for the iPhone?
I have just had a 'demo' of a load of free apps for the Iphone on a colleagues Iphone and I must admit I was impressed and very surprised, I had always discounted the Iphone as an option for me due to the many (well documented) short commings for power users. However after seeing such applications as the Tioti TV+ which is so quick and smooth and lets you send remote record requests to a Sky+ box - somehting I have been desperate for. Along with great film and cinema applications and many other very neat applications which aren't available on Windows Mobile, I am begining to wonder if I made the wrong decision in purchassing my touch HD??!
Just thought I would share my thoughts with you all....I am sure I will get a barrage of abuse for this post, but would love to know if we think the future of windows mobile may include some more intuitive and consistently looking applications.
P.S. If anyone knows of a SKY+ remote record app which is designed for Windows Mobile I would love to know!
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Click to collapse
I don't use Sky+ and have no idea on apps for this - but, I understood it is possible to control the Sky+ box remotely just via an SMS ?
Another possible option is a Slingbox ?
Try also pocketgear.com for applications: http://www.pocketgear.com/en_US/html/index.jsp
and, Softpedia: http://handheld.softpedia.com/#categories-soft

A five second search on google / sky produced this:
http://anytime.sky.com/mobile.aspx

And clicking through to the supported handsets only lists a few manufacturers and I don't think there are any WM devices.
I think it's a Java app? It might work (I don't have Sky, so can't test!).

Cheesy Dave said:
A five second search on google / sky produced this:
http://anytime.sky.com/mobile.aspx
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Click to collapse
Perhaps you should read on as there is no compatible version for Windows Mobile 6.1 (HTC Touch HD)!
Hawk

You need to analyse your own requirements before deciding if iphone or HD is right for you.
For me, the lack of GPS software (google map doesnt qualify), office applications, user swappable spare battery, inability to support stylus, and lack of choices in software keyboard in iphone make it an unacceptable choice.
Another person's need might be different.
jrshodges said:
Get applications like you can get for the iPhone?
I have just had a 'demo' of a load of free apps for the Iphone on a colleagues Iphone and I must admit I was impressed and very surprised, I had always discounted the Iphone as an option for me due to the many (well documented) short commings for power users. However after seeing such applications as the Tioti TV+ which is so quick and smooth and lets you send remote record requests to a Sky+ box - somehting I have been desperate for. Along with great film and cinema applications and many other very neat applications which aren't available on Windows Mobile, I am begining to wonder if I made the wrong decision in purchassing my touch HD??!
Just thought I would share my thoughts with you all....I am sure I will get a barrage of abuse for this post, but would love to know if we think the future of windows mobile may include some more intuitive and consistently looking applications.
P.S. If anyone knows of a SKY+ remote record app which is designed for Windows Mobile I would love to know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Nighthawk2050 said:
Perhaps you should read on as there is no compatible version for Windows Mobile 6.1 (HTC Touch HD)!
Hawk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed the JAVA components and they work on Windows Mobile 6.1 - the issue is that the software expects you to have a keyboard (or a keypad) attached to input various details .... so you can't use it on a Touch HD !

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions, however I don't beleive sites like handandgo etc are anything like the Iphone Appstore, the apps cost a lot more and you have no idea of compatability. I don't beleive you can easily browse for apps on your handset, like you can with for example the Iphone.
I am not saying I think the Iphone is the best choice of phone, but they certainly got somehting right with the app store and wondered if Microsoft will listen up and provide developers an easy route to dev similar apps for windows mobile?!
I Have tried all the Java Sky remote apps before and as you have spotted they do not work with a touch screen device if it doesn't have hardware buttons too. Also even if it did work it is not very user freindly - I was using this as a example of a really usefull app, which I am amazed has not been built for Windows Mobile touch devices too....it just seems weird why there are so many great little apps for the Iphone, which are so easy to download and browse though, yet it has only been about a relatively short time in comparison with Windows Mobile....I find this most annoying!
Anyway, thanks again for your input

jrshodges said:
Thank you for all your comments and suggestions, however I don't beleive sites like handandgo etc are anything like the Iphone Appstore, the apps cost a lot more and you have no idea of compatability. I don't beleive you can easily browse for apps on your handset, like you can with for example the Iphone.
I am not saying I think the Iphone is the best choice of phone, but they certainly got somehting right with the app store and wondered if Microsoft will listen up and provide developers an easy route to dev similar apps for windows mobile?!
I Have tried all the Java Sky remote apps before and as you have spotted they do not work with a touch screen device if it doesn't have hardware buttons too. Also even if it did work it is not very user freindly - I was using this as a example of a really usefull app, which I am amazed has not been built for Windows Mobile touch devices too....it just seems weird why there are so many great little apps for the Iphone, which are so easy to download and browse though, yet it has only been about a relatively short time in comparison with Windows Mobile....I find this most annoying!
Anyway, thanks again for your input
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Click to collapse
You're welcome and good luck with your choice - still an Iphone ?
Yes, the apps in WM are expensive and there is no simple app store. Rumours are around that MS will fix this.
Having said that, the app developers for WM are doing some great work. I have loads of apps on my HD (see other forum posts I've made recently).
I would like a TV guide app that brings in channels from across Europe. That is, one that would allow me to select my favorite channels.
Sorry the Sky+ thing did not work, as I said, I don't have any experience with this. I'm surprised the keyboard SIP did not work when using the java app.

michi123 said:
www.handango.com for example....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you - will take a look around that and the others suggested by people. I suspect my response will be similar to jrshodges - not overly clear on compatibility and quite expensive. But I won't be pessimistic...
Thanks again.
Dave

Cheesy Dave said:
You're welcome and good luck with your choice - still an Iphone ?
Yes, the apps in WM are expensive and there is no simple app store. Rumours are around that MS will fix this.
Having said that, the app developers for WM are doing some great work. I have loads of apps on my HD (see other forum posts I've made recently).
I would like a TV guide app that brings in channels from across Europe. That is, one that would allow me to select my favorite channels.
Sorry the Sky+ thing did not work, as I said, I don't have any experience with this. I'm surprised the keyboard SIP did not work when using the java app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers Dave, no - not an Iphone...yet...I am happy to persevere with my WinMo device for the forseeable as I do belive I would miss, like others Sat Nav (which by the way I use TomTom and it looks and works great) ease of Exchange sync etc etc.
I just wanted to rant for a bit about the lack of decent and easily accesable apps for WinMo....in the hopes someone would point me in the direction of a lovely MS App Store (wishful thinking!). I hope you are right and wee do see something from MS soon, although I guess they will wait and in include it in Windows Mobile 6.5 or 7 - although by the sounds of it that won't be anytime soon :-(
And if anyone does ever find a decent TV guide and Sky + App then please remember this thread and post it for us!

Its also worth mentioning that although there are a lot of iPhone apps, and yes they are cheap, most are useless eye candy that have about 2 minutes worth of value in them.

Check out my list of apps here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3116988#post3116988
Also, of course, the wiki page:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Software
I don't know much about the Apple apps. But, I can say that some of these WM apps are really serious work and clearly have had lots of effort and thought applied to them.
My latest addition is Pocket Stars - a bit of astronomy fun for me, but a serious app for enthusiasts.

The iphone is for simple folk. The app store is for simple folk. IE it works.
WM is bit more complicated but gives those of you willing to use it a lot more freedom.

I do wish there were more apps and games for the HD.
I have both the Iphone and HD at home (well the Mrs has the iphone) once jailbroken the iphone is truly amazing and I almost wish i had one instead, but them my mrs reminds me why i dont have one, I would get board in no time. I played with hers (iphone that is) for a couple of days over the xmas break then went back to playing around on my HD.
Its still early days for the HD and remember the IPHONE has been around for quite some time now.
Give it a little time and the HD will be up there with the iphone, you already starting to see some really nice app/games coming out.
My only other wish would be some way to get multi-touch to work on HD as it makes games very playable on iphone.

The problem with Microsoft trying to replicate the iPhone App Store is that Apple have 2 different handsets to maintain, which are practically identical except for the GPS/3G.
There are many different versions of WM in use, with many software customisations by handset manufacturers and operators and varying hardware abilities.
I'm not sure how it would be possible to test the full range of devices that a particular application may work with. On top of that, people may or may not have updated the firmware for their device, which can break (or fix) applications.
I'd love to see it, but it's certainly more difficult supporting hundreds of different handsets customised by many operators rather than 1 and a bit

I saw on here that someone is working very hard to make a form of "app store" that will work on phones (credit to them for the effort) its called Gecko...i found the link on the forum. Give it time, I think it will come...

WM Marketplace on Xperia?

Hi all,
I've heard a lot about Microsoft setting up WM Marketplace this summer. My main question is:
1. Does anyone know if this will be accessible on the SE Xperia?
From what i've read, the Touch Diamond 2 and Touch Pro 2 have been mentioned. Is this only going to be accessible through WM 6.5?
2. What does everyone think about the WM Marketplace?
I think it's been a long time coming, but maybe its too little too late. I've hated the iPhone since it came out but after spending a week with my uncles iPhone i've grown envious of the applications which are on the market for it. Its maybe not the most configurable or indepth phone but there are so many great and useful applications out there for the iPhone. Eventhough WM has been around for so many more years and there are more applications out there for WM, I think it sucks that WM have taken so long to move forward with applications and finally the UI (WM6.5). There are lots of sites from which you can buy WM applications but why are the quality of the programs the same which we saw 3 or 4 years ago - extremely bad. When you are using an expensve touch screen phone like the Xperia, you want applications readily available and also user friendly. If WM had invested more time and effort into getting developers involved then the iPhone would be nothing today. I just feel my X1 is going to waste without the applications which would really utilize the hardware of the Xperia!
3. What do you think about the pricing of applications in the WM Marketplace?
Currently lots of apps for WM cost stupid prices, upto £20 a pop! I think approaching this again like Apple would be to provide free limited versions of the application and charge you £2 or £3 for the full version. This would mean more people would be willing to try out different apps.
Anyways sorry for the long post!
I love forward to reading your replies!
Nav

1. I heard that the WM Marketplace would be compatible with WM 6.1+ devices. It's just a link to a website? I'm not to sure.
2/3. Personally I think it's a good idea. I never ever understood why cell phone applications should cost $10+. Some cost $20+, which I would never pay for. I feel like if more developers can market their applications to wider audience via the WM Marketplace, this would drive down the cost of applications.

After browsing the website, it looks like most of the items are sold via Handango which is already on our Xperia's. I hope the marketplace will catch on, but I doubt it.

I personally think that Marketplace will catch on for WM users.
You see so many adverts for the apps on the iPhone and i'm sure theres loads of people like me who would like to see some of those apps bought to WM.
It's a case of Microsoft encouraging developers to start making these apps by making a centralised Marketplace where they can sell their ideas.
But is it too little too late?

It is "built-in" in Itje´s 6.5 and is just a shortcut to https://client.marketplace.windowsmobile.com which is not ready.

I think that wm will change a lot with the new market , but im agree with your opinion , maybe the important changes comes to late . ive read that wm will include much iphoneapps in their market and that the market will available for wm6.0 and 6.1 devices too but i think that it also will be possible to upgrade your x1 up to 6.5 . so i can wait , i have to wait -.-

I REALLY hope that wind mobile 6.5 does come to the XPERIA

Is it possible to run iPhone apps on WM? maybe they will bring "iPhone style" apps, but its always going to be perceived as Microsoft copying Apple once again!
Is it possible to eventually run iPhone apps on WM? Through an emulator or other software?

comeradealexi said:
I REALLY hope that wind mobile 6.5 does come to the XPERIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WM Marketplace doesn't require WM6.5.
I am pretty satisfied with the current development scene but I think the WMMP will spur a new "age" and I really hope it does.
Microsoft is known for being sloppy though.

Marketplace???

Has anyone noticed how ridiculously expensive and overpriced applications are in the Windows Mobile Marketplace?
For one, their selection of applications are terrible. So far they're just a bunch of badly designed generic apps that don't feed any real purpose. The games are horrible too.
The only decent application I wanted to buy was Pac Man, but that's like £5 !!! for a measly game that probably only has 5 levels and I'm only going to play when I'm bored.
. I just want a decent Twitter application that has kinetic scrolling and doesn't show that horrid side-bar control.
. A decent media player with visualisations and coverflow.
. A few nicely designed touchscreen games including ones like Tweeter that makes use of the G-sensor.
It makes no sense for Windows to release all these devices and advertise that WM is a social device when their marketplace is a bunch of bollocks.

ilabstudios said:
. I just want a decent Twitter application that has kinetic scrolling and doesn't show that horrid side-bar control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://code.google.com/p/pocketwit/

I agree. I am very disapointed with the marketplace myself. I was expecting thousands of high quality cheap and free apps but that's not what we have yet. I am hoping that this is only due to the fact that it's been 10 days since its release and must be hard to get thousands of apps ready to go in the first few months. I am confident though that microsoft is ready to compete with android and iphone so must surely have something more in mind than they currently have.

Unfortunately it has nothing to do with Microsoft. The WinMo software companies haven't adjusted yet to that fact that there is a central place for the average user to hit and find their competition. Something like SPB could be as pricey as it wanted, because it could take the average user forever to find any quality alternatives. They have the advertising dollars, placement on carrier websites, etc. Now there's a spot for a smaller competitor to get the same exposure. But it'll take time for them to pop up.
$30 for any mobile app is retarded. I'm really disappointed that since release day, I'm only seeing 10 new apps in the store. Maybe the "what's new" button is broken, but there's a couple on the results page I installed day 1 of Marketplace being open

The lack of apps is probably not helped by the fact that, as I understand it, Microsoft charge an extra $10 or so for each country to list the app in (and require that the app be localized for that country) so I'd assume that a good chunk of people developing apps in the US aren't going to push their apps beyond the US (I'm no developer so haven't read the full pricing details but that's the gist of what I've seen in some MS developer forums with people questioning why their apps aren't available)
It'll especially be true for free or cheap apps - if you've made a free app, would you pay out to make it available to other countries?
The only reason I can see for restricting apps to a country is if they are purely regional - TV schedules for a particular country, or train schedules or something.
Steve.

Well, I'm in the US, so not really an issue. Trust me, not missing much if they are actually holding out on pushing to other countries.
I'd also guess the word is out to developers that Marketplace is a good spot for their software to turn freeware and end up on a torrent so perhaps they are holding off until Microsoft fixes the security.

Jesus shoe tapping finger clicking Christ, give it a chance its only just started. I have already seen a lot on there for free and under 70p... just wait and be a bit patient.

give it a chance its only just started
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would if that were the case. Unfortunately, Marketplace has been exposed to developers months before it was officially released, which is why I am confused as to why there are so many cheap applications. I'm sure that there will be more applications coming soon, but I'm more concerned about the pricing and quality of applications. When I watched the first keynote last year on the coming of Marketplace I had higher hopes than his.
I realise that some iPhone developers have investment from other companies and some of them even have a development team working on the apps, but still.. look at the type of stuff Android have compared with Windows, it's ridiculous. It's as if no real developer wants to develop on the WM platform.
I feel that their advertising campaigns are misleading. They're trying to get across the fact that WM is now social and more application orientated when so far all I can find on the marketplace are overpriced applications that seem like it was developed for WM5.
Personally I don't think 6.5 is going to be a huge success, TechCrunch has already given it a bad review. WM7 better be different.
Btw. In the world of technology, there's no room for 'Oh give it a chance' type attitude. Technology companies usually have once chance of pulling something off. Hence the reason why companies like Google or Apple spend millions of dollars on market resource, trial testing and development research.

Marketplace? Pah!
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/
I've been relying on the RSS feed from this fine site for the past couple of years or so, since my original TyTN, TyTN II and now my Touch Pro 2. It's a great site, has introduced me to great programs like NoniGPSPlot, has new applications all the time and finally - it's all free (and not warez free, but genuine software).
Great stuff - Microsoft saw what Apple were doing too late and have done too little me thinks to succeed.
I love my Windows Mobile phone; but Apple's iPhone taught Microsoft and other mobile developers how important eye candy in a phone OS was. Google's Android OS will be taking the lions share of future mobile phone sales and I see Android phones surpassing the iPhone.
Unless Microsoft do something right, not many peeps will want a Windows Mobile device in a few years time...

So far the only good to come out of the app store is Zenonia...badass rpg... 10 bucks though But well worth it in my opinion! If you like old school snes hack and slash rpg's, this game is for you. Full sound, decent story, just great overall. For me, there's point in playing my old favorite snes games on my phone because with sound, to me its pointless. and not using sound is the only way to get an snes emulator to run smooth; regardless of which one it is ( morphgear, smart-whatever its called, or pocketsnes

Paulplex said:
...
Great stuff - Microsoft saw what Apple were doing too late and have done too little me thinks to succeed.
I love my Windows Mobile phone; but Apple's iPhone taught Microsoft and other mobile developers how important eye candy in a phone OS was. Google's Android OS will be taking the lions share of future mobile phone sales and I see Android phones surpassing the iPhone.
Unless Microsoft do something right, not many peeps will want a Windows Mobile device in a few years time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see plenty of commercials for iPhones and Google phones on TV but absolutely none for WinMo phones. MS really needs to start promoting itself in this market.
S

How about the annoying fact that I don't get a chance to choose where to intstall the app. They all go directly to device memory. That sucks balls!

Paulplex said:
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/
I've been relying on the RSS feed from this fine site for the past couple of years or so, since my original TyTN, TyTN II and now my Touch Pro 2. It's a great site, has introduced me to great programs like NoniGPSPlot, has new applications all the time and finally - it's all free (and not warez free, but genuine software).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice one !

Theres a cab floating around here to fix that...
moSess said:
How about the annoying fact that I don't get a chance to choose where to intstall the app. They all go directly to device memory. That sucks balls!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

mpicart said:
Theres a cab floating around here to fix that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=568806

@Paulplex - Thanks for the link. I know I can get free applications quite easily, that's what I've done so far. However most of them aren't to 6.5 standards, the majority of them are still coded for use on old WM5 phones.
When you spend hundreds on a phone you expect to install applications on it that are intended for such a high-end device. The only application which is worth installing is the Myspace and Facebook app, and even those aren't great.
I regard my phone as my house in a way. When we buy a house, we intend to fill it up with furniture, usually the more expensive the house, the higher quality the furniture. The same should apply to phones, in that instead of furniture we require high quality applications. But where are they? SPB is the only one I can think of.

do you people think that bill gates and the people at microsoft are just gonna sit around and allow apple to dominate the app frenzy in the market for pdas and devices? dont u think that most people at microsoft all have winmo devices? do u really think any employee would have an apple iphone?...so of coursse thousands of new gsensor apps are on their way of being placed on the marketplace or in development...obvious with android showing that they have developers also who are pumpin out apps for them..microsoft is doin the same thing..give them time the winmo app store just came out..and a gsensor phone for a winmo device first showed up only a yr ago..so they have a bit of software catching up to do with these new devices. HTC thank god...droped 6 new phones for the north american market just this month alone..with the tp2 being the first in september..(htc pure,htc hero,htc tilt 2,htc imagio,htc mytouch) so basically with 6.5 also droped...htc has done their part by stacking microsoft with a heavy set and multy array of phones to crush the competition i.e iphone 3gs or whatever version its at now. microsoft is not gonna sit around and allow apple to dominate the app market..and they sure as hell arent gonna let android..a new OS that has no business gettin their OS on htc devices, surpass them either...remembr bill tried to buy out google but they rejected a couple yrs ago. And u all know bill gates has a winmo devices,prolly a htc touch hd or the new imagio...dont u think he wants a huge selection of apps himselve? trust..were not the only ones on the heals of microsoft to get these developers in line..and get these apps rolled out...plus half the apps apple has for the iphone are useless and they are just puttin them in commercials to show that they have a **** load of apps...half the apps they have could be bunddled up with other apps like how a spb traveler or mobile shell app is but they are just tryin to show off how many apps they have..plus most of all the developers for apple just have the change a couple scripts around in their apps and all the same apple apps could be made into cabs and become winmo apps...so the **** isnt hard..the microsoft winmo team execut8ves or w/e u wanna call them need to get their marketing department working full throttle and start shipping new apps with these new phones...i repeat HTC has done their part..now its time for the software to catch up...

"Windows" isn't a device, "Windows" doesn't release devices, and "Windows" doesn't sell devices. "Microsoft" isn't any of those things, either. Microsoft is a company that produces an OS that runs on LOTS of devices (some phones, some PDAs, and a whole lot of things that are neither).

Plenty of time for this thing to get up to snuff.
But that said, the real problem is that while there aren't that many WM OS out there, (5, 6, 6.1, 6.5) and most apps will pretty much install in either, the different hardware config makes it a different ballgame, especially with games, no pun intended. Some phones have buttons, some don't. Some games will work only in landscape, some will not, some will work on both. And not all phones are exactly finger friendly. They're meant to be used with a stylus for the most part, the finger's a secondary thing.
So yea, these developers will have their hands full, unless of course they want to limit their market to particular devices only.
So that being said, my gripe is that none of these apps are telling me they're to be used in a particular hardware platform.

@moegdaog, I'm a developer myself, so I realise the number of new applications that will come soon, however that's not what I was specifically talking about.
I'm more concerned about the level of development on applications and games. Why so many developers opt to develop for iPhone isn't because of a bias view-point, it's because the tools they provide mean that they can develop a high-end application and start earning money as soon as it's in the marketplace.
However the type of developers are not the same. iPhone developers are usually younger, multimedia orientated so they probably have skills in web, graphics and illustration, where as Microsoft developers are usually a lot older and more prone to developing utility (function) based apps and have very limited skills in anything else. Most developers aren't able to outsource and so they are left with a rubbish application.
My worry is that yes there will be many applications within marketplace but will they actually be worth all that money and will any investors support the development of these apps. Also how will these applications differ from what we have seen on Android and iPhone.

Typical micro$oft !!!??? poor app selection ...

today a friend of mine bought his new Htc hero into work and showed me all the brilliant FREE apps available on his android (google) based phone ..... and dont even get me started on the 90,000 odd iphone apps available to iphone users. so i went off and looked on the M$ marketplace on my HD2 .......what did i find ...bugger all and they even have the cheek to charge £6 odd for crappy old games like pacman !!!!!!!!!!!

Errr... yeah, where shall I start?
Okay, first of all: There are currently about 30,000 applications for WM available. That's twice as many as you find for Android.
I also estimate that 80% of all apps available for the iPhone are useless. If only 33% of the WM apps are useless, that means you get the same amount of useful applications for WM as you get for the iPhone.
Secondly: Marketplace has opened only two months ago. Sure, there should be more applications in there, considering the 30,000 applications that are available for WM outside the Marketplace. But other application stores have opened with even less apps available.
Nothing stops you from getting your applications from other sources, outside the Marketplace. There are also lots of FREE apps available for Windows Mobile, just look at what people are doind in this forum.
In fact, it's an advantage for us that Microsoft doesn't limit distribution of applications to their marketplace like Apple and Google do. This way, we and the developers have more freedom and applications are not banned (like Google Voice for the iPhone, to name one famous example - but there are hundreds).
So, in this sense, Microsoft is BETTER than Apple and Google.
EDIT: Please change your thread title to something useful (i.e. one should see from the title what the thread is about).

Who cares about Marketplace? As maati said, there's plenty of other places to get applications from.

i just think m$ are missing out on making their platform content rich.... i know most of the apps are useless but some are fun and the games are good....i was only stating a simple observation. everyone on the forum seems so darn serious !!!

And I gave you the actual reason for your observation
I also had hoped for more apps available from the beginning, but the number will grow for sure. I don't think that Android had 800 applications after only two months, did it?
And you don't have to rely on Marketplace, so there's nothing wrong...
...okay, there is something wrong, but that's another story: The 800 apps are only in the US, every country gets its own Marketplace and that's really a stupid thing. Well, let's hope they fix that - if you want to have a look at the US American Marketplace, then there's a 'hack' for you - just search the forum for it.

Thread closed: OP is uninformed.
Windows Mobile exist for a decade, plenty of apps available outside the brand new marketplace.
The marketplace still has several issues, non the least the protection scheme issue. (which allows a cracker to crack ALL programs in one go with a small bit of universal code)
This is why some developers are hesitant to publish on the marketplace.
EqX

Why is the Windows marketplace so poor?

Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers

snerkler said:
Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers
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Click to collapse
Marketplace differs from region to region. You may want to look at changing your region (not via settings - it's documented on xda forums) and then see what else is available.
Personally, I think Marketplace is very good, but needs time to grow. You can't expect it to be full when it's only been publicly available for a matter of months.
Incidentally, this isn't a "HD2 vs iPhone" thread. There's no need to make every question a comparison between 2 completely different pieces of hardware.

johncmolyneux said:
Marketplace differs from region to region. You may want to look at changing your region (not via settings - it's documented on xda forums) and then see what else is available.
Personally, I think Marketplace is very good, but needs time to grow. You can't expect it to be full when it's only been publicly available for a matter of months.
Incidentally, this isn't a "HD2 vs iPhone" thread. There's no need to make every question a comparison between 2 completely different pieces of hardware.
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Click to collapse
Haha, sorry about that, just hard not to when that's what I've got at the moment. If you're going for something new you do tend to always compare it to what you have already, or at least I do
I didn't realise the marketplace has only been available for such a short time, I just assumed it had been around since the start of windows mobile

There's already so much stuff available from other sources (legal I may add) that frankly there's not much use for marketplace until it has grown

snerkler said:
Haha, sorry about that, just hard not to when that's what I've got at the moment. If you're going for something new you do tend to always compare it to what you have already, or at least I do
I didn't realise the marketplace has only been available for such a short time, I just assumed it had been around since the start of windows mobile
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Nah - it's in its infancy. It's actually grown a lot recently. When I first went on there there was about 10 apps, but then we found out about the region thing and that opened it up a lot. Also, bear in mind that there's a MASSIVE online arena for windows apps (I'll give you a clue... we're in it now ). The marketplace doesn't have the draw that the appstore has, since so many winmo developers have already got their base set up.

snerkler said:
Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it bad as marketplace default installs everything onto the device without the option of changing it. This obviously uses up (the very limited) storage on the HD2.
I've heard its possible to move them however its just a pain to do and tbh I can't be bothered, I'd just get it from other sources .... thankyou google.

Marketplace
Marketplace is Microsoft's kneejerk response to iphone's app store.
I have not bothered to look at it.
There are at least a dozen websites I can think of that have been selling thousands of apps from dictionaries to games for over a decade.
Appstore exists because it is apples monopoly.
I cannot believe the public who fall for such cheap tricks.
Look outside the cave!

Xaddict said:
Marketplace is Microsoft's kneejerk response to iphone's app store.
I have not bothered to look at it.
There are at least a dozen websites I can think of that have been selling thousands of apps from dictionaries to games for over a decade.
Appstore exists because it is apples monopoly.
I cannot believe the public who fall for such cheap tricks.
Look outside the cave!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to both agree and disagree with you there mate. I know what you're saying about the kneejerk - it does seem like Microsoft are just getting in line with Marketplace, but it does have its advantages over regular downlading and installing of things.
For example, after flashing the recent ROM upgrade, I went to marketplace and just clicked "my apps" and "install all". All the apps I've downloaded in the past were downloaded and installed for me, in the background while I carried on setting up other things on the phone.
Things are usually both black and white.

johncmolyneux said:
"A bit" off topic, and hardly a problem for Marketplace. It's only a problem if your phone has low program storage, like the HD2.
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Slightly off, however if users are reluctant to purchase from there (possibly because of storage issues) then developers would think twice about hosting their applications there (as i would also assume MS charge for the service in some way or form), its also not only the HD2 that has the device storage limitations, quite a few other WM phones are in the same boat.

jrrigney said:
Slightly off, however if users are reluctant to purchase from there (possibly because of storage issues) then developers would think twice about hosting their applications there (as i would also assume MS charge for the service in some way or form), its also not only the HD2 that has the device storage limitations, quite a few other WM phones are in the same boat.
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Of course, I just used the HD2 as an example, but you're also right about devs not wanting to put their work somewhere were it will not be as appreciated. Well, I can see them having marketplace and an alternative - handango for example, or their own site. It's still a useful place, even if you only look there for things to search for and download (you know, like the sky movie channels )

this is the best site i found for apps www.freewarepocketpc.net

Are all apps from over places resolution dependent? or will they go full screen?

Theguru1 said:
Are all apps from over places resolution dependent? or will they go full screen?
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That depends on the app. They're all different

I think the marketplace will only see significant growth when mobile 7 is released. At the moment there are too many devices with different screen resolutions, processor speeds and other hardware like GPS / digital compass. When mobile 7 is released and the basics will be set out (like resolution) the app developers will know what they develop will be available for all win mo users