Windows Store compared to other app stores

In recent years application stores have proliferated in the world of computing From the classic GNU/Linux repositories, which they led the way, up to the current stores that emulate their software dissemination strategy. These have been made accessible to users to the point of becoming a fundamental element of the experience we have with our computers, mobiles, tablets, etc. Microsoft, which had already joined the party in Windows Phone, now places its bet on our desktops with its application store for Windows 8.The Windows Store thus enters the competition against a large group of companies. In this comparison we will try to see its main arguments with respect to some of its rivals.

Microsoft chooses its own path

Here is a first important distinction. While Apple and Google, the dominators in this application store, began their journey with stores for smartphones and ended up adapting them to the world of tablets, leaving personal computers in a differentiated context; Microsoft has opted for a somewhat different strategy, distinguishing between a store for mobile phones and another for computers and tablets.

Apple has its App Store for iPhone and iPad and its Mac App Store for Mac OS. Google has Google Play for Android on mobiles and tablets and, if we consider Chrome OS as its operating system, the Chrome Web Store would fulfill the respective role.Microsoft, on the other hand, has Windows Phone Store for mobile phones and Windows Store for Windows 8, which as we know will be on tablets and computers. In addition, 'Modern UI' follows the same scheme in all contexts, so the experience extends across all three types of devices.

The difference is not trivial, because while their rivals apply a mobile strategy to tablets, Redmond's would be giving Windows tablets a strategy more similar to the of PCs A consequence of this different strategy are the applications that we can expect to see in the Windows Store. While the Apple and Google desktop stores contain apps focused on being controlled by keyboard and mouse, in the Microsoft store we should see apps more focused on touch control , whatever the device from which we use them. In addition, in any case, in the Windows Store there will always be 'Desktop Apps' for those of us who yearn for keyboard and mouse.

The battle on the desktop: Windows 8 called to be king

Let's focus on desktops and laptops. Windows as a PC operating system is unrivaled, so the Windows Store has its main challenge in convincing desktop and laptop users. In theory, the challenge is similar to that of Apple with its Mac App Store, but also that of Ubuntu, which has its own store: the Ubuntu Software Center. In short, we are talking about operating systems that have their own official app store

The Ubuntu store, like the Mac OS store, acts as one more application, serving as a way to acquire all the software for each system. Both have a similar structure and design from which the Windows Store clearly distances itselfThe 'Modern UI' spirit represents a radical change compared to its competitors. Starting with the cover, cleaner although with fewer applications at hand. Of course, they all choose to show in it a selection of applications that their editorial team considers interesting. In the case of the Windows Store, the preeminence of these featured apps makes their choice and rotation especially relevant.

Save for design differences, category pages or search results are presented evenly in all three stores. The application pages, on the other hand, include some distinction, highlighting the fact that Windows Store occupies the entire screen, which allows the application to focus all the attentionof the user. For the rest, in this section, most of the stores share a structure: large screenshots, with information in the main column and data on one side, without forgetting the button to install or buy the application that appears clearly differentiated in all of them.

The Smartphone Example: An Introduction to App Stores

If something has trained users in the use of application stores, it is mobile phones. Their app stores are the main way to install software on our smartphones and for that reason we cannot ignore their features and the similarities that desktop stores share with them. In many cases they have led the way and, in this, the Windows Store is no exception.

Android and iOS are the two largest official store systems, and there are certain things that the Windows Store will have to compare itself to. First of all, given the nature of Windows, it seems important to know how the Store will deal with the question of the different devices from which we will have access We know that our account will have associated a list of devices but we have no idea how it will handle app compatibility.Google has solved this in its store by clearly showing which devices an application is compatible with. It would not be surprising if Microsoft opted for a similar option.

Security is another issue to consider. In this case, the resemblance points to going more in line with the Apple App Store. Microsoft pre-checks applications uploaded to its store; all must meet a series of conditions that include following the line marked by the 'Modern UI' style. Google is more lax in its conditions and trusts the user's decision, in return it adds an extra step in the installation to show the permissions that the application requires to work.

Another key point that has gained relevance with app stores is user opinions Unlike other stores, where reviews appear alongside all app images and data, Windows Store chooses to display them in a separate tabThis can have two consequences: on the one hand, it will give more importance to opinions, giving them their own space, but, on the other, it will also help to hide them from the first glance with which users approach the application.

Other stores: competition on many fronts

Apart from the official stores, whether for personal computers, mobile phones or tablets, multiple specific stores have proliferated over the years with which the Windows Store will inevitably collide and among which we can highlight a couple of examples . This is the case of the Chrome Web Store in the case of web applications or Steam in the case of games.

Although the Chrome Web Store may not be a huge success for Google, your browser is, and the store has become the go-to for extensions that help make it the ultimate app.Windows 8 and the 'Modern UI' style break with those rules and with the idea of having the browser window permanently open. Windows Store apps provide direct access to content, and developers can use web technologies such as HTML5 and Javascript to create them. It remains to be seen how far the change introduced by Windows 8 goes and how it affects our browsing habits.

But if Google should be alert, Valve has an important front open for its Steam game store, in which it has also recently begun to offer applications. The statements by Gabe Newell, Valve's boss, showing his dissatisfaction with Windows 8 should not be surprising. After all, the Windows Store turns the system upside down. Although initially we only see casual games in the Microsoft store, nothing seems to prevent us from seeing all kinds of video games available for download in it in the near future.Of course, for this, Microsoft must earn the trust that developers and users have shown with Valve and that cannot be achieved in two days.

"Developers, developers, developers, developers…"

Steve Ballmer's famous harangue now makes more sense than ever. Microsoft needs developers to fill the Windows Store. In the end, all this competition in application stores turns programmers and designers into the real stars to be conquered, and for that, Redmond's will have to offer better conditions than their rivals. Starting with the price of registering as a developer, set at $49 for freelancers and $99 for businesses, more than Google Play's $25 but less than the $99 per year from the Apple App Store.

Regarding the price of applications, Microsoft allows you to set it between 1.49 dollars (1.19 euros) and 1,000 dollars. By comparison, Google Play, if we take the US as a reference, has a lower allowed range: between 0.99 and 200 dollars. The percentage that Microsoft receives from each sale is similar to the rest, with 30% of the same. It is the same that, for example, Apple maintains in its app stores; but, in the case of the Windows Store, from a high number of sales the commission will be reduced to 20%.

Microsoft has already taken a first step, clearly differentiating its app store through its design and integration with the devices from which we can access it. But to stay in the fight and compete with his main rivals he's going to need all the developers he can convince