Apps for Surface RT - How Long Should We Wait?

[mapexvenus]

I have pre-ordered a Windows Surface RT device and understand that this will not run any legacy x86 apps. I also read that the OS on the device is not *true* Windows 8 even though it does have a Windows 8-style dashboard.

My question is this: What are the chances that developers will get on this bandwagon and actually begin writing popular apps for the device? Why would developers even write for this device considering that Windows Surface Pro (albeit more expensive) is around the corner? I don't want to be left with a device that runs Office and very little else.

 

[TeknoBlast]

I'm running Windows 8 on my desktop for over a month now and at the beginning, there wasny many apps. I looked again this week and a lot more apps were available. So just like any new OS that contains apps, it's going to take some time to get 1,000s of apps available. I've said many times on different forums. I rather have few quality apps available than having tons of crappy apps being pumped into the app store.

 

[J515OP]

There should be thousands of apps at launch. MS has been actively working with WP7 developers to convert their apps as well as the big players such as Netfix, Facebook, etc. The whole point of RT is that it is based on Windows 8 and makes it very easy to port apps from Windows 8 to Windows RT. It is the legacy apps (old computer programs) that won't work but going forward what works on Windows 8 should work on RT with little to no extra effort. That means huge support for RT, it is not such a radical departure from Windows 8 that it is its own OS. On top of that WP8 is designed in the same way, with the idea being that anybody who designs apps for one part of the ecosystem can easily port their apps to the other parts and MS launched a huge effort to help update the WP7 apps, while not as many as iOS and Android are still in the thousands.

Android and iOS completely lack the ability to be on PCs, tablets and phones at the same time. This huge advantage alone should ensure huge developer support for apps across the platforms. Of course this is the real world and we will have to see what happens but MS has theoretically provided the developers the opportunity to have one app that works on 3 platforms. What could be better than that from a developer standpoint?

 

[mapexvenus]

There should be thousands of apps at launch. MS has been actively working with WP7 developers to convert their apps as well as the big players such as Netfix, Facebook, etc. The whole point of RT is that it is based on Windows 8 and makes it very easy to port apps from Windows 8 to Windows RT. It is the legacy apps (old computer programs) that won't work but going forward what works on Windows 8 should work on RT with little to no extra effort. That means huge support for RT, it is not such a radical departure from Windows 8 that it is its own OS. On top of that WP8 is designed in the same way, with the idea being that anybody who designs apps for one part of the ecosystem can easily port their apps to the other parts and MS launched a huge effort to help update the WP7 apps, while not as many as iOS and Android are still in the thousands.

Android and iOS completely lack the ability to be on PCs, tablets and phones at the same time. This huge advantage alone should ensure huge developer support for apps across the platforms. Of course this is the real world and we will have to see what happens but MS has theoretically provided the developers the opportunity to have one app that works on 3 platforms. What could be better than that from a developer standpoint?

I agree - quality instead of quality. I am really hoping that Outlook is available on RT as well as VPN connectivity software. But I hear that the device isn't really enterprise friendly.

 

[J515OP]

I agree - quality instead of quality. I am really hoping that Outlook is available on RT as well as VPN connectivity software. But I hear that the device isn't really enterprise friendly.

Here is a pretty good Cnet article about quality apps rather than quantity. Does an app store's size matter if content is the killer app? | Common Sense Tech - CNET News

RT really ins't the device for enterprise, that is what Windows 8 tablets are for (such as the Surface Pro).

 

[D.T. Rose]

Yes, there will be limitations at first, but trust me, it won't last long. The Windows Store is going to explode in just a few months after the release of Windows 8 and Surface. But, yes, I agree with the aforementioned comments--quality over quantity. Personally, I'm not a huge app person in general. I like the bigger names, say Netflix, Wikipedia, etc., but I don't like a lake of second-rate applications that run poorly installed on my device. Of course, Apple may love to praise their store and refer to the thousands of options, but I would say that 70% of the apps in their store are pure garbage and completely useless.