Windows App Builder

Has your smartphone been “Smoked by Windows?” Despite claims by Microsoft that its Windows phones have beaten thousands of phones in various tests conducted since the CES earlier this year, developers haven’t been quick to adapt.

That’s what makes the official release of appsbar, the device-agnostic app builder, such a boon for owners of  Nokia, Lumia, and the new Windows Phone 7.

The marketing campaign for the Windows phone claims 50,675 devices have been "smoked" by one of their phones and conclude that 98 percent of the tests contrived by the company prove the device’s superiority. In all, only a relative handful of phones (638) outperformed.

Still, a recent survey shows that developers aren’t jumping on board to build native apps for the Microsoft superstar. The survey was published by IDC and suggests that at least 80 percent of developers surveyed planned to incorporate HTML5 code into their mobile apps during 2012, but just 6 percent said they were comfortable with building pure HTML5-apps.

With services like appsbar making noise (to the tune of over 100,000 users and 9 million app launches), Windows Phone fanatics have a chance to participate in the app-conomy.

“HTML5, cross platform, operating system agnostic app development, and appsbar, are here to stay,” says appsbar founder Scott Hirsch. “Being cross platform and device agnostic finally allows mobile apps that everyone can share.”

Appsbar’s HTML5 apps have proven to work perfectly on all Windows Phones and operate like fully functional Windows native apps. Appsbar’s HTML5 capabilities include functional modules like discography, unlimited smart forms and menus offering better control for validating data, focusing, and interaction with other page elements. 

So while developers may not be overly keen on coding specifically for the Lumia (only 18 percent surveyed showed any interest in the device), companies like appsbar continue to expand the opportunities for Windows users.

Appsbar, servicing the masses through appsbar.com, was launched in 2011 to fill the gap between over-simplified apps and costly, professionally-produced apps. After a year-long beta period, the company officially launched its site in April of 2012 having already established itself as the largest publisher of apps on Google Play.

Meanwhile, the “Smoked by Windows” gimmick has turned into a full-fledged and much-maligned marketing campaign. The premise is simple; bring your own smartphone to a participating store and square it off against a Windows Phone in a randomly chosen challenge to perform a simple, routine task. There are some crying foul, suggesting the “tests” are pre-arranged and the prizes ($100 if your phone beats their operating system in a speed test) haven’t been paid.