News · 23 Nov 2010 · MTW Editorial Team
The company has just outlined the “5 new ways” they are going to promote Windows Phone 7 applications and games this holiday season. So what is this all about? Well nothing ground breaking:
1. Find Windows Phone 7 Apps & Games on Bing Visual Search
Sure this looks really good. But it isn’t updated in real-time or even on a daily basis…
2. Promoting Windows Phone 7 Apps & Games on Xbox 360
Haven’t seen much here so I’m guessing that it’s US centric?
3. Windows Phone 7 Apps & Games on Windowsphone.com
Ok…
4. Campaigns featuring Windows Phone 7 Apps & Games
The TV ads suck. Yeah that’s just my humble opinion but people want to see the damn OS in action not skydivers or people taking a leak in public toilets. Hate me all you want but Apple’s ads are just…perfect. Show us flashy graphics, the friggin UI in action etc…
5. Windows Phone Marketplace on Zune PC software
Yeah…first off: Can somebody explain to me why the Zune desktop software always defaults to Xbox Live games? when I open the Marketplace Aren’t all the other non-xbox live XNA games getting the shaft here? Microsoft loves to boast about the 13000 registered developers. But how many of them have submitted an app yet? Even I didn’t submit mine even thought I was one of the first one on the deck. The company is claiming that 3000 applications should be available by the end of the month. That’s super cool but the vast majority are just bad and even Microsoft’s own applications are badly coded (MSN Money is a good example… even the Halo Waypoint app lags). So who’s to blame here? The developers or Microsoft? Half of the previously announced Xbox Live launch titles aren’t even out yet either. Microsoft was definitely in a hurry to launch WP7 this year but they will have to keep working on better developer support, developer tools (update Silverlight for WP7 and find a way to simplify tombstoning) and have a better ad campaign (haven’t seen an TV ad in a while here btw…) AND OPEN THE MARKETPLACE TO MORE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD..yeah I feel for you folks who can’t even access or buy applications…oh and maybe try to better secure the marketplace too… But that’s jus my opinion.
source: Microsoft
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