I think people have made a mistake bragging about 'app store numbers'.
When Windows Phone 7 first came along, a lot of the tech press liked to simply score the platforms by the number of apps.
Microsoft originally were pretty hot at stopping the 'free' or 'light' versions of apps being entered, as anything on their store can have a trail mode. From a usability perspective this is just great. However people would compare the app count against android, not discounting the android apps that were just trails etc.
So sadly, as long as people keep talking about app count, it is not in the interest of MS to cleanse it.
Hmm. Maybe I am wrong. I think it's not that obvious though. "People" used in a topic where the "press" is mentioned clearly means !press* to me. Maybe the author could clarify if he sees my comment ?
Erm I think we are diving a bit deep into semantics. I guess it depends on why people talk about app count, is that due to press or their own way of understanding?
As a geek who uses the pretence he needs to evaluate all the platforms, I've iOS, Andriod, WP8, W8 devices. I have apps that I love which are only-on/muchbetter-on one platform. It is very hard to compare and contrast them. As much as I find my Lumia 1020 the most useful, and pleasurable to use device, I also have to have an Android or iOS tablet because of a must have app (SkyDemon if you are curious).
These shortcuts, comparing just the app count, provide a way of letting people summarise the complex underlying problem.
When Windows Phone 7 first came along, a lot of the tech press liked to simply score the platforms by the number of apps.
Microsoft originally were pretty hot at stopping the 'free' or 'light' versions of apps being entered, as anything on their store can have a trail mode. From a usability perspective this is just great. However people would compare the app count against android, not discounting the android apps that were just trails etc.
So sadly, as long as people keep talking about app count, it is not in the interest of MS to cleanse it.