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 Windows phones accounted for just 3 percent of global smartphone
sales last year, compared with about 81 percent for devices with
Google's Android system and 15 percent for Apple and its iOS system,
according to research firm IDC. One reason is that Windows doesn't
run as many or as attractive apps as its rivals.
To boost sales of its phones and new operating system, Microsoft
said last month that it would provide tools to software developers
to make it easier to design apps for Windows based on apps that run
on Android or Apple. But because so few people use a Windows phone,
most developers remain focused on the more popular systems and don't
see a need to develop apps for Windows. They also said they doubt
how easy the new tools will be to use.
"Windows phone will have to gain a significant share of the market
before this becomes something that saves us time and/or money," said
Sean Orelli, a director at app development firm Fuzz Productions in
New York, which makes apps related to Citibank, the New York Post,
and Conde Nast, among others.
For Microsoft, the world's biggest software company, there's a lot
at stake this summer as it rolls out Windows 10, the first operating
system designed to run on PCs, tablets and phones. If developers
don't embrace the new platform, it will seriously damage the
prospects of the new operating system, which Microsoft hopes will
power one billion devices in two or three years.
CANDY CRUSH
Interviews with more than a dozen developers found just one planning
to move an app from Apple or Android to Microsoft <MSFT.O>. That's
King.com, which ported its popular Candy Crush Saga game from iOS to
Windows 10 "with very few code modifications" and will be installed
automatically with upgrades to Windows 10, according to Microsoft.
King.com confirmed the move but declined to comment further.
Eight developers said they aren't planning to develop for Windows 10
at all. Four who already have Windows apps said they would continue
to do so.
Because Microsoft hasn't actually unveiled its new set of tools to
turn apps into a Windows format, developers did not rule out any
move, and a Microsoft spokesman said that "it is still early" and
many software companies want to explore the tools over the coming
months.
More and better apps might attract more people to buy a Windows
phone or tablet, Microsoft reasons. Only six of the top 10 free apps
on iPhone are available for Windows phone, and of those, two are
made by Microsoft itself. In the past Microsoft has paid developers
to create Windows apps.
Failure to attract the apps would not be fatal for Microsoft, which
is growing more reliant on its Office, server software and cloud
computing services, but it would be a sign that Microsoft is losing
its hold on personal computing, in a world where phones are expected
to outsell PCs by more than six to one by 2017.
Because of that trend, "it's going to be hard for developers to
prioritize building for Microsoft," said John Milinovich, Chief
Executive of URX, a mobile ad service that creates links between
apps.
STATIC BUSINESS
Windows, closely tied to the stagnant PC market, is a big but static
business for Microsoft. It's likely worth $20 billion in revenue
this fiscal year, analysts say, compared with almost $30 billion for
its Office business, out of total expected annual revenue of $93
billion. The company's server software and cloud-computing
businesses are growing much faster, with cloud-computing revenue
forecast to triple to $20 billion by 2018.
Even though only a handful of developers have been allowed a sneak
preview of the new tools Microsoft says it's preparing, most doubt
it will be easy to take iOS and Android apps to Windows. Concerns
include how the Windows app will use batches of pre-written
software, called libraries, that an app needs to run, and the
prospects that Apple's new language, called Swift, may soon eclipse
the current one.
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Erik Rucker, head of mobile at Smartsheet, which makes an online
tool to manage projects, said he doesn't plan a Windows app version.
He doubts tweaking an iPad or iPhone app for Windows would be
simple.
"We'd end up writing a whole bunch more code," to move over an Apple
app that was tightly integrated with the device, he said.
For Jason Thane, general manager at General UI, a mobile app
developer based in Seattle, the cost of developing a Windows app
from another system would need to fall to about 10 percent to 20
percent of the cost of building it.
"It can cost 50 percent or more of the cost to develop an app on one
platform to port it to a new platform," said Thane, who hasn't yet
used the new tools. "So if Microsoft has a way for our customers to
do it easily and cheaply, and if there's no serious performance or
functionality impact, I think they'd have a lot of people wanting to
do it."
Even a little extra effort is too much for some smaller developers,
including former Microsoft executive Adam Tratt, who now runs Haiku
Deck, which makes presentation software primarily designed for iPads.
"I'd like to at some point, but we're not working on it yet," he
said. "It's a function of resources."
Recent history hasn't been on Microsoft's side. Last year Pinterest
pulled its Windows Phone test app, and this year Chase and Bank of
America stopped supporting Windows phone apps, saying few customers
were affected. None of those companies would comment on plans for
Windows 10.
Microsoft does have some loyal supporters. Walt Disney Co <DIS.N>,
Netflix Inc <NFLX.O> and USA Today all confirmed they are developing
apps for Windows 10.
USA Today, owned by media giant Gannett Co <GCI.N>, is building a
"universal" app for Windows, which will run across PCs, tablets and
phones. But instead of reusing code from its existing Windows apps,
or porting from Apple or Android, the development team opted to
start fresh.
The best experience was always going to be achieved with tools made
for a given software system, said Christopher Kamsler, manager of
mobile development at Gannett, and even with those his team had to
tweak the app to work for different sized devices.
It's an uphill battle for Microsoft, said Frank Gillett, an analyst
at tech research firm Forrester.
"Android and iOS are in the zone, the Windows guys just aren't there
yet," he said.
(Editing by Peter Henderson and John Pickering.)
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