The Windows Phone Marketplace continues to grow at a steady rate. In little over a year, the Marketplace now has over 40,000 published apps according to an estimate from All About Windows Phone. This number is not the total available to consumers, but the total number that has been submitted to the online store. An estimated 5,500 apps are no longer available to consumers because they were removed by Microsoft or the developer.

It’s estimated that 165 new apps are added each day to the Marketplace. This number should stay steady now that Mango has hit handsets and given the platform a much needed boost. The introduction of Nokia’s first Windows Phone handsets, the Lumia 800 and the 710, should help increase handset sales. This, in turn, should increase developer interest in the platform and boost app submissions. This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky dream from a Windows fanboy. Early reviews of the Lumia 800 are favorable which bodes well for Nokia, Microsoft and Windows Phone.

[Via All About Windows Phone]