Category Archives: Windows 8 apps

Turn your WordPress Blog into a Windows 8 App!

If you are one of the million bloggers who use WordPress platform (like we do) for blogging and thinking about creating an app for your blog,Microsoft and IdeaNotion might just got what you were looking for!

IdeaNotion has released a tool named IdeaPress which converts the content of a WordPress blog to a full blown Windows 8 based app which can be published over the Windows Store and if you are among the first 200 people to register for this program,you would get a 50$ visa gift card from IdeaNotion as a reimbursement for publishing app over the Windows Store using the developer account.

All you have to do is publish an app using the IdeaPress tool or a template on Github which allows you to quickly turn your WordPress blog into a Windows 8 app.You can send an Email to mwnwcan@microsoft.com with your blog URL to secure your Visa Gift Card.

This is a smart move by Microsoft,which will encourage the blogger community to create an app for their WordPress blog,which will in turn allow the Windows Store to grow big.So we can expect a flood of Blog based apps over the Windows Store in near future.

Source[Technet Canadian Team Blog]

Nokia Music App Launched For Windows 8 and Windows RT

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Nokia has launched their Nokia Music app for Windows 8 and Windows RT platform over Windows Store.

The app provides a free trial for th Windows 8 and RT users for Nokia Music + services.But if you want to use it fulltime then you would need to buy a Lumia Phone and sign up for the Nokia Music+ services.The users can play their songs from the collection and can still enjoy the discovery and artist information feature using this app on Windows 8/RT.You can even wirelessly stream your app content on a DLNA supported devices.

The app is currently available in US,UK,Australia and Ireland but soon will be rolled out to other countries as well.You can download the Nokia Music app for Windows 8 and Windows RT platform from Windows Store.

Updates for Windows 8 Mail,Calendar and People app now Available

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As promised earlier,Microsoft has released major updates for their core Windows 8 apps like Windows 8 Mail app,Calendar app and the People App.

So users can now update their Mail,Calender,People and Messaging app via the Windows Store app’s Updates option.These updates are available for Windows 8 as well as Windows RT platform users.The updates brings lots of new features for the apps.Mainly for the Mail app.

The app now adds the Flagging feature to the Mail app,so now users can Flag the important mails,also the app now allows users to modify(create,delete and rename) the Email folders right through the app.The Messaging app now allow users to directly post messages to their Friends Facebook Wall.The calendar app is now visually improved to allow easy reading with solid blocks gone and the colors are now reflected in a small bar on the left of each appointment.

So head over to the Windows Store and update the Mail Calendar,People and Messaging app to enjoy the latest features and improvements on your Windows 8 and Windows RT device.

x86 Based Apps Running on Windows RT,Thanks to a Jailbreak

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We all know that one of the major limitations of Windows RT is the limitations with running Legacy x86 apps,since the Operating System is compiled to run on ARM based processors.

But thanks to the Hackers community who are always upto something new and challenging,we have already saw someone running early version of Mac Running on the Surface RT.Now a member from XDA Forum has released a Tool which allows us to run x86 based apps on Windows RT after jailbreaking the device.

The tool basically emulates x86 instructions and passes Windows API calls to WinRT kernel with necessary modifications,which allows x86 based legacy apps to run on Windows RT based tablets.Currently since the program is in the Beta stages,it only runs a few apps like WinRar,3D,Pinball,Heroes of Might and Magic,7Zip etc.but not without some glitches like Sound issues and hanging.

So we can say that this is pretty much of a proof of concept and we should give the developer some more time to make the tool more stable before trying it out.But if you are willing to try and risk it out make sure you follow all the Instructions by the XDA Developer Here,but do it at your own risk as it may damage your device or void the warranty.

Source[XDA],Via[Neowin]

Windows Store Crosses 35,000 Apps Mark

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A few days ago we reported that the Windows Store crossed 30,000 apps.

Now as reported by MetroStoreScanner site,which tracks the apps over Windows Store,the Store crossed 35,000 apps worldwide,inching closer to the 50,000 apps mark.

With the US Store having over 22,000 apps in their region,while the China store still leads with over 24,000 apps in their region for Windows Store.

The Store is growing rapidly with quantity as well as quality apps coming to the platform.Of the 35,000 apps almost over 95% apps are ARM compatible and all of them compatible with x86 and 64x platform(Intel based processors).
As we predicted,with this rate we can expect the 50,000 apps mark by the end of January or even before that,as the apps approval process gets faster after the holiday season.

Source[MetroStoreScanner]

Google Not Releasing Google Apps to Windows 8 Platform Anytime Soon

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Windows 8/RT is just over a month and a half old and the Windows Store doesn’t have the Google Apps just yet.Google is also not in a mood right now to release their apps on the new Platform as of now.

Image Credits [CNet]

As reported earlier by CNet,the Search Engine giant doesn’t have any immediate plans for Windows 8 app launch.Talking to Tech Publication V3 Google Apps Product Manager Clay Bavor said that their products won’t come to the platform anytime soon.

Here’s what Clay Bavor said in the interview,

“We have no plans to build out Windows apps,” “We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are, but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8,”

He also added that,if Windows 8 platform gains scale then they would obviously bring their apps on the platform.
This is contrary to the previous rumors floating around the web which suggested that Google has completely ruled out the Windows 8 apps.It is to be noted that they have already released the native Search app and Windows 8 version of Chrome Browser.Hopefully we would see the other apps making their way onto Windows Store in near future.

Source[CNet]

Get the Start Menu Back on Windows 8 For Free with Pokki!

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Windows 8 was finally released to public last week and within a span of 4 days over 4 million upgrades were sold by the Software Giant.One of the most controversial Windows 8 feature was the Introduction of Start Screen and the Removal of the traditional Start Menu made it worse.

But thankfully there are some tools to bring back the Start Menu to Windows 8,there are some paid softwares which can do the work for you,but if you are searching for a free app which can bring the Start Menu back to Windows 8 Pokki’s Start Menu app is the way to go.

As you can see from the screenshot below it brings back the Start Menu with some more additional features and a nice User interface.

You can choose the add to favorites feature to bring your favorite apps in front of the Menu.

As you can see the Internet Explorer icon in the favorites list below,

However if you want to use the Start Screen as well there’s an option in the corner of the menu to choose the Start Screen of Windows 8.

Download Now:[Pokki's Start Menu App for Windows 8]

Angry Birds Space Now Available Over Windows Store For $4.99

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We saw the launch of Windows 8 yesterday and with that the Windows Store kicked off with over 7,000 apps for public.

Rovio one of the popular developers of games for iOS,android,Windows Phone and other platforms has released its highly popular Angry Birds Space title over the Windows Store.The game is compatible with both Windows 8 and Windows RT platform.

Game Description:

ALL NEW ANGRY BIRDS GAME FROM ROVIO — the #1 mobile game of all time blasts off into space!

After a giant claw kidnaps their eggs, the Angry Birds chase it into a wormhole and find themselves floating in a strange new galaxy – surrounded by space pigs! Luckily the Angry Birds have super powers of their own…

Angry Birds Space features over 130 interstellar levels on planets and in zero gravity, resulting in spectacular gameplay ranging from slow-motion puzzles to lightspeed destruction. With regular free updates, brand new birds, brand new superpowers, and a whole galaxy to explore, the sky is no longer the limit!

Features:

Over 130 interstellar levels!
Regular free updates!
Brand new birds!
Brand new superpowers!
Zero-gravity space adventures!
Trick shots using planets’ gravity!
Hidden bonus levels!
Beautifully detailed backgrounds!

Angry Birds Space is available for $4.99 over Windows Store.

Via[NirmalTV]

Windows Store Apps Numbers Shows Astounding Growth,Reaches 3,600Apps

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Windows Store for the Windows 8 based apps has been growing steadily after the Windows 8 RTM launch and as we inch closer to the public release of Windows 8 there is a surge in the Windows Store with The store reaching 3,610 apps with 3weeks for the release.

We were expecting around 3,000 apps for the launch,but courtesy the growing number of apps in the store we might see over 5000 apps in the store before the launch.

Image Credits[WinAppUpdate]

Windows Store app tracking site WinappUpdate, recently reported that the store is growing at a rate of 118 apps per day and during the 3 days of last week the store saw an average of 240 apps submissions per day.

The store is dominated by free apps with as many as 88% of the apps available for free in the Windows Store. Gaming still holds the number one spot in the app categories with 18% of total apps,followed by entertainment with 13% of total apps and tools with 10% of the total number of apps in the store.

By the looks of it,it seems to be going good as far as the Windows Store goes and we can expect a good quantity and quality of apps in the store by the time Windows 8 hits General Availability.

Microsoft Discusses App Monitoring on Windows App Store

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Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned and doing all within its reach to increase the number of Windows 8 applications on the App store. To achieve this Microsoft has introduced Analytics Reports for monitoring the performance of your app on the App store. In its latest post on the Windows Store blog site, authored by Antoine Leblond of Microsoft, discussed the ways in which Metro app developers will be able to monitor the performance and sale of their apps.

Once your app has been published on the app store, you will be able to view its performance in the form of data such as the total number of downloads since its been published and ratings given to the app.This data is updated every 24-36 hours which makes sure you get up-to-date information.You will see a dialog as shown below:

On clicking the Reports link at the bottom right corner of the dialog shown above it will open up the app summary page that summarizes the key data-points for that app. The App summary page is designed by Microsoft to provide you a quick overview of how your app has been doing over the last 30 days. The app summary page shows you download trends, ratings breakdown, and quality overview for this app. Here’s an example:

The Listing views by referrer chart helps you track referral sources for your apps. It displays the top five sources from where users have landed on the app listing page.

The Usage report helps you understand the amount of time users are spending on your app per day and compare that against the average usage for the subcategory your app belongs to.

Analytics Reports have been designed to include a lot of reports that will allow you to not only refine and improve the sales and downloads of existing apps, but also to determine what types of apps to consider building next. Microsoft has also promised to keep on improving the analytics so that developers can better understand the trends and better market their apps.

Source: Microsoft