Mobile app tracking firm Flurry Analytics reports that it has seen a 66% spike in developer interest in Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform following the company’s landmark partnership deal with Nokia last week.
While that may not seem like a huge leap when you consider how few developers have actually started creating apps for the nascent technology, it’s worth noting that Android also started out on similar untested and uncertain footing. See for instance the chart below comparing the developer activity around three different mobile phone platforms — Windows Phone 7, Android, and BlackBerry — during their respective first five weeks of availability.
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Here’s a key excerpt from the company’s blog post detailing the findings.
“It is interesting to note the similarity in relative growth of Android and Windows Phone 7 project starts. When Flurry launched its support for Android in October 2008, there was doubt in the industry around the viability of Android as a development platform. Back then, the sentiment was that Android would capture market share as a mobile operating system, but not necessarily as an application development platform or an ecosystem where developers could thrive. 180,000 apps later, Android answered its critics.
Likewise, prior to today’s announcement, many questioned the viability of Windows Phone 7 as an operating system that developers would support. Moreover, there was doubt that Microsoft as a company could muster enough momentum to gain relevance at this stage the mobile platform race. From Flurry’s point of view, this week’s spike in Windows Phone 7 developer activity shows that developers not only believe Nokia has given Microsoft Windows Phone7 a shot in the arm, but also that Nokia and Microsoft together can build a viable ecosystem.”