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Does Official App Support Matter to You, or are 3rd Party Apps Enough?

posted on Apr 11th 2012 by

When people talk about Windows Phone they like to mention the lack of official apps in the Marketplace. Apps like YouTube, Pandora, and Google Music are notably absent, but 3rd party developers have created great alternatives. Despite those great 3rd party apps people still complain about official support.

Why is that? Is the idea of using a 3rd party YouTube app just foreign to us? A lot of people choose to use 3rd party apps like Rowi and Mehdoh over the official Twitter app, but when it comes to Pandora that doesn’t cut it? Personally I don’t mind if official apps are available as long as they provide tools for 3rd party developers. Pandora refusing to develop for Windows Phone has opened the door for apps like Radio Controlled and MetroRadio. I bet that both of those are better than what Pandora would offer.

What about you? Do you need to see official app support? Are 3rd party apps good enough for you? Let us know in the comments below.


  • I love my third party apps. My first smartphone was a PalmPre and it had almost exclusively third party stuff on it. I use a lot of third party ones on my current android devices as well. But first party apps effect the general perception of the health of your ecosystem.

    The fact that Android now has most of the major iOS apps, gets updates as they do, and is seeing most new apps release on both simultaniously, means that people don’t feel like they are leaving behind their life if they switch. They are making no concessions by choosing an Android device they like or is cheaper than their buddies iPhone.

    To me, it is the same as the PC vs Mac vs Linux debate. I am a gamer and so the only real choice for OS is Windows. For most businesses they want Windows bc of productivity and network solutioms. Editors and designers prefer Macs BC it is what they have always used for that; Apple has stayed on the cutting edge in terms of design and those apps. If you are into coding you will probably lean towards Linux. Its more about what applications each has available that keep us in their ecosystem.

    That same debate is happening in the mobile space now. And sure, while most companies could and should use something like OpenOffice instead of Microsoft’s overpriced software, they don’t want to. They want the real thing.