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Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

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Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#11
Would it have been cheaper to pay the top 100 Android apps to make a Windows version? Perhaps they do it on a continual basis to keep their marketplace up to date?

On that note, I'd like to try making a windows phone app. Is there anything sorely missing from the platform?

Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#12

Would it have been cheaper to pay the top 100 Android apps to make a Windows version? Perhaps they do it on a continual basis to keep their marketplace up to date? On that note, I'd like to try making a windows phone app. Is there anything sorely missing from the platform?

I remember a strategy similar to this earlier in the Windows Phone lifecycle - maybe they weren't outright funding the dev teams, but they were offering large incentives. I'll paste a link here if I can dig it up.

Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#13

Would it have been cheaper to pay the top 100 Android apps to make a Windows version? Perhaps they do it on a continual basis to keep their marketplace up to date? On that note, I'd like to try making a windows phone app. Is there anything sorely missing from the platform?

Microsoft tried this a few years ago. Getting top 10 apps like Instagram took a lot of time -- and presumably money too, although that was of course never disclosed.

When Instagram did make a native Windows Phone app, it was feature incomplete and stuck in permanent beta. I don't think they ever released a final version.

Most other top 10 apps never did ports. At the same time, Microsoft was also spending quite extravagantly to get small indie devs making Windows apps through initiatives like "App Campus". Those didn't make a dent either.

Paying their way to a mobile ecosystem was a complete failure for Microsoft. Even with its deficiencies, I'm sad that Windows Bridge for Android ("Project Astoria") is dead. The iOS bridge is nowhere close in practical use. Windows 10 universal apps don't have developer mindshare in the mobile space. Windows 10 Mobile is pretty much dead.

Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#15

Would it have been cheaper to pay the top 100 Android apps to make a Windows version? Perhaps they do it on a continual basis to keep their marketplace up to date? On that note, I'd like to try making a windows phone app. Is there anything sorely missing from the platform?

I remember a strategy similar to this earlier in the Windows Phone lifecycle - maybe they weren't outright funding the dev teams, but they were offering large incentives. I'll paste a link here if I can dig it up.

Here's one example I remember, though only $100 offered per app: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/19/4124548/microsoft-paying-d...

Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#18
As someone who has spent years building software on top of compiled android binaries, as in, adding features to apps with nothing more than the APK (no source code), I can say that what they are building is not only difficult but quite fragile. I have the benefit of customers who agree to certain OS versions and specific app versions. MS wants it to work universally with every app. It's possible to get it close enough that getting any single app to work is a few tweaks, but very hard to get it to the last mile, where every app "just works".

Re: Microsoft's plan to port Android apps to Windows proves too complex

#20
post #18

As someone who has spent years building software on top of compiled android binaries, as in, adding features to apps with nothing more than the APK (no source code), I can say that what they are building is not only difficult but quite fragile. I have the benefit of customers who agree to certain OS versions and specific app versions. MS wants it to work universally with every app. It's possible to get it close enoug…

Sounds interesting, can you tell us more?
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