Microsoft Details Windows 8's App Store Advantage

Microsoft Details Windows 8's App Store Advantage

Windows 8 is coming soon. October 26th in fact. Some of us are already acquainted with Windows 8, thanks to the Windows 8 release preview Microsoft rolled out in early June. We're generally pleased with what we saw, but the biggest issue we've encountered is the lack of applications built for Windows 8. Granted, the OS isn't available for sale yet, but three months is a very short time. If the Windows 8 app store isn't populated enough by October 26th, the new OS could face challenges ahead.

That's where developers come in, and Microsoft has come up with a rather elegant solution to their problem. According to Business Insider, Microsoft announced the Windows 8 app store details recently, and it seems that developers can start pricing their apps at US$1.49. That's slightly more than the minimum US$0.99 over at Google Play or Apple's iTunes, but there's a good reason for it.

The app store has a trial period of seven full days before consumers are asked to commit to paying in full for the app. That's way more than the pathetic zero days from iTunes, or the 15 minutes from Google Play. Microsoft will still take 30% of app revenue -- an industry norm -- but once the app hits revenues of US$25,000, Microsoft will only take 20%, leaving more for the developers. Such a business model will make it highly attractive for developers, especially the bigger ones who stand to make more.

Source: Business Insider