Microsoft app store next Feb – as Android Market hits 10bn

When you’re this far behind, all you can do is be relentlessly up-beat. Which Microsoft was last night in the barn-raiser to build dev interst in the app store for the cross-platform “Metro” apps for Windows 8 devices. The store will go live in February, and offers developers the ability to hit the countless multitudes of Windows desktop and tablet users out there (should they hopefully upgrade to Win8), and the hoped-for buyers of Windows Phones that have so far been warmly received in their Mango incarnation.

At the same time, Google’s director of the Android Developer Ecosystem, Eric Chu, said in a blog post: “This past weekend, thanks to Android users around the world, Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads — with a growth rate of one billion app downloads per month.”