It was about time. About time, or insanely late, depending on who is doing the talking! But Microsoft has quietly rolled out a simple program early in March that offers app developers a slick $100 for their apps.
We talked about this a little while back, and how BlackBerry utilized this technique to quickly fill up its app store for its new platform. Onuora already shared his views on this earlier today.
It is no secret that Microsoft needs to fill its app stores with as many apps as it can. While the Windows Phone Store is somewhat out of the woods with plenty of applications, things have slowed down as far as the Windows Store is concerned.
Now the company has rolled out a special campaign that it hopes encourages developers to create Windows 8 apps. Microsoft is now offering software developers $100 for each approved Windows Store entry until the campaign ends or until Redmond receives 10,000 qualified applications.
This promotion is aimed at both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 developers, with a maximum of 10 apps per platform allowed for each developer. Meaning, a single developer could potentially earn $2,000 if he or she codes 10 apps for each platform.
Talking to AllThingsD, the company confirmed this is a limited time program:
“We believe the best apps come from those partners who are invested in the platform and own their experience now and in the future. Of course, we are always working to spark creativity with new developer audiences and sometimes try limited incentives or contests, like Keep The Cash. However, it is not representative of an ongoing program.”
Sounds fair enough!
Those who enter the promotion will be receive a $100 virtual VISA card for each approved app by the way, so if you have a bright idea for an application, now is the time to get working.
The campaign was launched on March 8, by the way, and runs through until June 30.
All Comments
Looks like Microsoft is now begging everyone to adapt to Windows 8. They must be hurting… As a developer, I will not create any apps for this ridiculous operating system!
No matter how ridiculous this OS is, as a developer, you rush to where the money is. Win8 market definitely will be bigger than the others sooner or later. And it has less apps now means your app will have more chance to be noticed by your customers. You probably is a developer but definitely not a businessman.
As a developer the thought that windows might pull off the windows Blue update and unify the three app stores into one with the ability to have a phone app operate on a cpu, or rt box, really is a big thing. Talk about exposure for a developer. Three different possible users on tje different devices could all havr access to purchase and run my app? That is quite a thought. Talk about opening up the market for developers. That would be a game changer.