Windows Phone 8 app submissions up by 40 percent

The main gripe people have about Windows Phone 8 is its lack of apps, but it looks like that won't remain a problem for long. According to the Windows blog, app submissions to the Windows Phone Store have gone up by 40 percent since the operating system was launched.

Microsoft also announced that app certification will remain open for most of the month, including what is usually counted as holiday season. The only days apps will not be tested are December 24, 25 and January 1. As the app certification process takes five days, developers are advised to submit their apps on December 17 or December 21.

App submissions up by 40 percent

While the Windows Phone 8 platform is picking up, it is in serious need of apps. Although the applications on the platform seem to be of a higher standard compared to Android, the OS lacks popular games and even social networking options like Instagram. We were told recently by Windows Phone representatives that the number of apps will be hitting significantly higher numbers very soon.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that the Windows Phone Store now covers 113 countries. In a blog post, the company also revealed that it would be rolling out an update for the Windows Phone Dev Centre and the Windows Phone Store.

The update contains fixes to issues identified by users, feature enhancements and reflection of new country-specific policies. “On tap for this wave of updates are several behind-the-scenes changes designed to help improve the reliability and performance of the Dev Centre, in addition to the app submission process,” read the blog.

Microsoft is also urging developers to go for worldwide distribution of their apps by working with the Dev Centre in order to maximise the reach of new markets, where a variety of new Windows Phones have or will soon be released.

Earlier this month, the reason for the lack of a WhatsApp client on Windows Phone 8 was revealed. The web messaging app is apparently undergoing some heavy alterations and will be launched for WP8 some time soon.

While there has been no official announcement from the developers of WhatsApp that an update is on its way, one consumer received a reply that there is a new update on the way and that it will be six times faster than the previous version. Apart from this, WhatsApp stated that there will also be new emoji included in the new version. WhatsApp has also mentioned that it would continue to use the background audio API. However, they are looking forward to Microsoft devising a way to keep the system running in the background, and for this to happen, Microsoft would need to lift its restrictions on third-party apps.

Many Windows Phone users have complained about the quality of the app for their devices and claim that it is not up to par as its version is available on other platforms such as iOS and Android. Hopefully, all issues will be taken care of in the update.