If the lack of Windows Phone handsets on the market doesn’t entice you to develop apps for Microsoft’s platform, what about cold, hard cash?
According to a report in the New York Times, Microsoft has begun paying developers to create new apps for its still-nascent mobile operating system.
The company is actively going after the developers of some of the most popular apps on Android and the iPhone, including Foursquare and Cheezburger Network, according to the report.
The Microsoft platform has gained a substantial amount of new attention thanks to the maturing of its partnership with Nokia. The first Windows Phone-powered Nokia device hit the US earlier this year on T-Mobile, at a mass market-friendly price of $50 (after mail-in rebate).
Microsoft is also touting the company line of quality over quantity, as one of the goals of Windows Phone is to change the way users interact with apps – the idea is that we should all be able to do most of what we need to with the device’s built-in software and programs, with apps as a secondary, not primary, function.
However, many question whether or not Nokia’s Lumia brand has staying power. The Lumia 710 gained a lot of attention because it was new, but it didn’t really push the market forward and now analysts are saying the next Lumia handsets may not get nearly as much traction.
Of course, whatever the company’s strategy is, it has a long way to go until it is a truly viable competitor in a space that really needs no help in creating new and interesting technology.
