Devs can’t be bothered with Nokia’s Windows Phone – report
Interest in building applications for the current generation of Windows phones from Nokia has plummeted among developers.
Just a quarter of developers are very interested in developing apps for Windows Phone 7 devices compared to 37 per cent in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest Mobile Developer Report from IDC and Appcelerator.
The drop is blamed on "somewhat disappointing" sales of Windows Phone 7 handsets and Nokia's "widely reported competitive challenges".
Nokia sold four million Lumias in the second quarter of 2012, down 20 per cent from the year before.
Shipments have gone south despite receiving considerable marketing support in the US – at least from partner carrier AT&T, which is spending $450 per handset to convince customers to buy a phone that's now priced at $49.99.
While the news is disappointing for Nokia, the future looks a little more encouraging for partner Microsoft.
Appcelerator and IDC found strong interest and optimism in Windows 8 tablets. A third are “very interested” in developing apps for Windows 8 slabs, although 65 per cent said they wanted the ability to provide a “consistent user experience” across smartphones, tablets and PCs when it comes to porting their x86 apps to ARM. 44 per cent said the Windows 8 Metro UI is Microsoft’s most strategic differentiator compared to iOS and Android.
Appcelerator and IDC surveyed 3,632 developers using Appcelerator's Titanium about their plans and development priorities, between 11 and 18 May.
(Source: theregister.co.uk)
