Microsoft re-entered the mobile world with Windows Phone 7 in late 2010 after scrapping its stylus-burdened Windows Mobile operating system. Although critics argue the company doesn't have enough quality applications yet, many have been quick to praise Microsoft's design and user interface efforts. Microsoft can't solve its app situation overnight, but its focus on bringing the top apps to Windows Phone and student activities suggest that it's in the race for the long term. Lower said that, following an emphasis on student developers with the release of Microsoft’s latest 7.5 Mango update, "we’ve seen an 8-times increase in the number of student apps published each month." Prior to the release of Mango, students created an average of 450 apps a month, and this figure has now risen to over 3,500 per month.

Microsoft's app situation can't be fixed overnight

Lower believes students are taking advantage of a young platform and creating unique apps thanks to free developer tools, an ever expanding Marketplace, and the chance of app promotion. Jake Poznanski, 22, interned with Microsoft during the summer before the release of Windows Phone handsets, and teamed up with 22-year old roommate Sam Kaufmann to create several Windows Phone games. "Initially my friends were like, 'oh dude you're making 25 cents a day on these apps, you're wasting your time' and I'm like it's fine I'll keep doing it," said Poznanski. The persistence resulted in the pair creating a Solitaire game that was a "huge success" and has over 6,000 ratings on the Windows Phone Marketplace. "We knew then that we had a very good thing going, and we decided to just keep creating apps," added Poznanski. Several games have also been ported over to Android, but Kaufmann says they haven't been as well received on Google's platform after the early success on Windows Phone, which could be attributed to the broader range of offerings in Google's Android Market. Still, the pair's success does show that there are gaps in the smaller Windows Phone Marketplace waiting to be filled.

"Every time we make a new game we make it on Windows Phone first," says Kaufmann. "We consider ourselves primarily a Windows Phone game studio." The faith in Microsoft's platform is surprising, but Kaufmann believes it's easier to develop Windows Phone games thanks to the developer tools. Discussing the Android SDK and emulators vs. Windows Phone equivalents, Kaufmann says the two "just do not compare," and that Microsoft's tools are better performing and easier to use. Poznanski believes that iOS and Android APIs are a lot more fleshed out than Windows Phone, but that the core functionality is "quite a bit cleaner on Windows Phone."

The pair agreed there are still things missing from Windows Phone like easy Facebook / Twitter integration and an in-app purchasing platform. These missing features have held back some rival developers, and even meant that big apps like Skype have had to wait until the Windows Phone 7.5 release to take advantage of essential APIs. The insistence on being a Windows Phone game studio is a big risk, but it's one that they took together. After the pair graduated, Kaufmann went on to work at Amazon, and Poznanski joined Space Exploration Technologies. Their Windows Phone games became so popular that they started up Random Salad Games LLC and quit their day jobs after just six months of employment, thanks to the advertising revenue from the free games.

They aren't alone in their success, either.