5 Top Reasons Why Google Apps Are Not Available For Windows Phones
Why Are Google Apps Are Not Available For Windows Phones?
"There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why." ―William Barclay
The question concerning why Google Apps are not available for Windows Phones can not be answered in one sentence.
This appears to be one of those complicated relationships that only the two parties involved really understand what the core issue could be. For those of us looking in from the outside, we can speculate and assume, but that is all we really have to go by.
Taking a look from an impartial point of view, we look more closely at the 5 top reasons why Google Apps are not available for Windows Phones. (Just like any relationship, the deeper we look, the more obvious the problem appears.)
1. Ending a Relationship
Google and Microsoft definitely have an interesting relationship to say the least.
Even though these two companies would love to break free of one another, they need each other to a small extent.
Google has developed Google Docs to try and replace Microsoft Office, so then Microsoft developed Bing to replace Google Search. The fact is they still need each other because Google Chrome runs best on Microsoft Windows, and then Microsoft needs Google Apps to try and entice new users to come on board.
That being said, Windows Phones is the one hurting the most from this relationship. As of today, there is only one Google app available in the Windows App Store, and it was last updated years ago. Google Apps is getting more bang for their buck at the Apple Store, so they have not even considered expansion.
2. No Respect for the Windows Phone
It is really clear by the amount of Google Apps in the Windows Phone App Store that they have little or no respect for this platform.
The biggest reason why the apps are not available at this time has to simply do with market share. Look at it from the perspective of the marketing giant Google. They currently share about 70% of the market with their Android, compared to a measly 8% that the Windows Phone holds.
That is not enticing enough for Google to want to play in that game.
Microsoft just is not grabbing the market by storm, so in the eyes of Google, there really is no fire that needs their attention at this time.
3. The Windows Phone Isn't Google-Friendly
If you strip away all the theories about why Google Apps are not available for Windows Phones, you can not get away from the fact that Google is in competition with Apple and Microsoft.
Looking at the amount of apps in the Windows Store, Google doesn't feel the urge to push the issue.
Now the same can be said a few years ago when Google had basically nothing in the Apple App Store. Then something happened, Apple popularity exploded. When Apple all of a sudden became a threat to Google, all of a sudden you begin to see an abundance of Google apps showing up in the Apple App Store.
Once they realized Apple was becoming too popular, they decided that they needed to be in that space. Market shares play a huge role, and right now Google just doesn't feel like they need to be worried about Microsoft.
Looking deeper, when the iPhone was released, it came installed with Google Maps, Google Search YouTube, and a Mail app.
When the Windows Phone was released, it came with Bing Maps, SkyDrive, Bing Search, no ability to make 3rd-party browsers Google-friendly.
Even if Google did release YouTube or Hangouts to the Windows App Store, those users are going to be making use of Bing Search and IE, so there is zero benefit or incentive to make the effort.
Google also knows that even though people want to try these Windows Phones, they won't without certain apps. Even though people would consider the phones, Google is holding the cards right now and isn't budging.
4. Windows Phones are Dangerous
Another reason why Google Apps are not available for Windows Phones, Google sees them as a threat.
Google feels that the relationship they have with Apple is not threatening at all, they are not worried in the least that users are going to ditch because Google feels Apple does not have many services that will conflict with theirs.
On the other hand, Microsoft is a much bigger threat because they have Office, Bing Search, Skype, and Outlook. If Google loses a user to the Windows Phone, Google stands to lose more than they want to consider. Google doesn't want to give Microsoft any attention or the users may start doing the same.
5. Windows Phone Issues
Perhaps the biggest reason that Google is not going to play nice with Microsoft is that Google simply has a major problem with the Windows platform in general.
The best way to explain this issue is that Microsoft offers users alternatives to many of the services that are already being provided by Google. Google feels that once a person tries the phone, they may start to get more comfortable with Bing or Skype, and rely less on all the services that Google offers.
Right now, by limiting the apps from showing up in the Windows App Store, Google feels that little to none of their users will be jumping ship anytime soon to be the first to experiment on the other platform.
These are 5 of the reasons why Google Apps are not available for Windows Phones. Google does not feel like they have to be worried about the competition as long as they are taking care of things on their home front. If Google can keep the user happy on their platform, they know the user is less likely to be looking for another.
The only thing that could change this relationship is if Microsoft becomes like Apple, a huge threat, and if that occurs, Google will certainly do whatever it takes to stay in front of their captive audience. For now, Google is not worried.
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