Every once in a while something comes along that stops this Windows Phone lover in his tracks. I’m not talking about this disaster of a review which certainly deserves an article of it’s own. No, I’m referring to the bad seeds in the Windows Phone Marketplace, that is those applications manufactured completely to screw with users. This week I’ve got my favorites plus a call to arms to Windows Phone users.
One of the absolutely funniest things I’ve seen since Anamaniacs has been eric_rulz’s Android. For free users can download an entire app that tricks unsuspecting downloaders into thinking they might be able to run Android apps or the Android OS on their Windows Phone. When you first fire up that application you’re greeted with just one match presented in the form of a listbox and a pivot: “This is an epic user experience”. Today a 139 people have rated the app poorly.
Not too far away from the epicness of that disaster is Shadefax Apps’ Fake Android. Have you ever wanted the entire Android “Ice Cream Sandwich” interface on your phone? No? That’s great, because the only thing this app offers is direct links to apps you could have already accessed on your homescreen. Fake Android is free with ads.
Lastly we’ve got the marketing genius that is Kitin Games’ Custom Wallpaper. If you think that having the ability to finally add wallpapers to your Windows Phone homescreen is brilliant, I’d agree but sadly that’s not exactly what’s going on here. Despite that name and it’s icon, what it actually does is allow you to customize the lockscreen.
I say all this to make one point. We’ve been hearing a lot about what outsiders think of the Windows Phone platform this week. We’ve heard from many reviewers in the last few days who rip Windows Phone for not having implemented features the way they expect them to. We’ve heard arguments that the Lumia 900 doesn’t have high enough specs and therefore isn’t worthy of being a flagship phone, because when we think of what I want in a phone dual core is at the top of everyone’s list. Most of the talk we’ve heard this week is nearly complete nonsense.
Except for this one issue.
The application issue in the Windows Phone is real and to insinuate otherwise is disingenuous. I’m not a big application user. I’m not even a big mobile gamer. What I am is a realist and while I despise the smug, taunting tone of some of these reviews of the Lumia 900, all of the apps we discussed today are featured in the Windows Phone Marketplace within the first three pages. Sometimes the fault does not lie within our stars, but within ourselves. We’ve got to ask ourselves are all of the problems being mentioned this week illegitimate, or is there maybe, just maybe a real issue buried within all the SEO grabbing headlines?
That’s it for the 20th, yes -20th edition of Windows Phone App Flow, we’ll be back with an all new slate of applications next week. Don’t forget to send us your favorites! Send me a message with your favorites on Twitter, username @harlemS.
