App store analytics provider Distimo took its monthly look at the world of mobile application stores, and this time zoomed in on the differences between Microsoft‘s Windows Phone 7 Marketplace and Windows Marketplace for Mobile (6.x).
For you information, Distimo gathered data on all major app stores, but the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace data specifically was collected from 1 November until 22 November 2010, in the United States only (the store launched at the end of October 2010).
Sidenote: make sure you check out CrunchGear’s take on Windows Phone 7.
Distimo found that games are far more popular in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace than they are on Windows Marketplace for Mobile (6.x), mirroring the way Microsoft positions Windows Phone 7 as a more consumer-oriented platform.
In fact, all ten of the most popular paid applications in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace are games, with prices ranging from $2.99 – $6.99. There are only two games among the ten most popular free applications in the store.
Prices for applications in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace are largely the same as those in other major app stores, including the App Store for iOS devices and Android Market, but significantly lower than apps in Windows Marketplace for Mobile (6.x).
Note that this contradicts earlier, widely cited reports.
The price of applications in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace closely mirrors the prices in other application stores, with 57% of the 100 most popular apps priced below $2.
One difference: apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile (6.x) are significantly higher than those in its succesor: only 37% of the 100 most popular applications is priced below $2.
As of November 22, there are 2,674 applications in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace (Microsoft says there are roughly 3,000 apps in the store today). That’s not too shabby when you consider Windows Marketplace for Mobile had garnered only 1,350 applications since its debut, over a year ago.
Mirroring the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a large portion of the ten most popular apps in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace is published by Microsoft (six, to be precise).
It will be interesting to see how it evolves.
Distimo has a very clear objective: to make the app market transparent. The company was born out of the frustration of a lack of insights into the performance of apps and the manual work needed to track important metrics. Our goal is to provide the best and most actionable app intelligence for anyone who wants to compete in the app market. Our data-driven team seeks to help developers, brands and financial services companies gain actionable, timely and factual knowledge...
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