Windows 10 might expand Microsoft’s smartphone market share

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By Jacob Maslow

Stock App on Smartphone
Macro view of stock market application on touchscreen

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Microsoft’s successor to its much-panned current Windows 8 OS. First of all, Windows 10 will have a start button-the biggest source of criticism for the first version of Windows 8. Second, Windows 10 will ship with virtual assistant software Cortana and provide a sleek and trim Internet browser. Moreover, the new OS will also automatically switch from touchpad to mouse mode depending on the device running it. Finally, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be releasing the much-anticipated OS as a free upgrade for current users of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Talk about a great way to make up for Windows 8. Well, as exciting as Windows 10 may be for Microsoft shareholders interested in how the Redmond WA-based tech giant will stay relevant in a tech space increasingly dominated by Google and Apple, there’s one feature of Windows 10 that should get Microsoft shareholders excited.

One key feature of Windows 10 is that this OS makes it easier for developers to make applications that will run on all of the platforms Microsoft produces. This means a developer can write a program for Xbox that runs on Windows 10 or, most exciting, on Windows Phone. This explodes any would be app developer’s potential market and, most importantly, increases the likelihood that more developers would produce apps for Microsoft’s tiny Windows phone market. This is extremely important because the main reason why Windows phone’s market share is so small is its shortage of apps.
Due to its current tiny market footprint, it’s not worth developers’ time and bother to create apps for Windows Phone. However, if an app for Windows Phone can work on Windows 10 and its massive market place, then the economics of Windows Phone app development has changed dramatically for the better. Looks like Microsoft’s new CEO is on the ball. If this gambit plays out, Google and Apple better watch out.
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