Microsoft is still trying to get some major apps to be ported over to its Windows Phone 8 operating system. This week, two separate rumors claim the company may be paying a lot of money to get more apps for Windows Phone smartphone users.

The reports come from BusinessWeek and Business Insider. Both claim, via unnamed but different sources, that Microsoft is offering some companies as much as $100,000 to bring their apps to Windows Phone 8. Both reports did not go into any more details, including which companies and/or app makers are getting that big advanced payday.

While the various versions of Windows Phone now have about 145,000 apps to download, Microsoft has still not able to get a few major apps to make the move to its Windows Phone Store. That includes Instagram, which has been the subject of a rather interesting campaign by Nokia to persuade the photo sharing app to come to Windows Phone.

If these new stories about large pay days for some Windows Phone app makers are true, it would seem that Microsoft is willing to spend whatever it takes to get the most popular mobile apps on its OS.

Source: Business Week and Business Insider | Image via Microsoft