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Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?

By | September 20, 2011, 6:42am PDT

Summary: The Metro apps that will run on Windows 8 systems look like apps on other mobile platforms. Consumers may expect similar pricing as a result.

More details about Windows 8 are getting revealed since Microsoft shared a lot about the next OS at the recent BUILD conference. Many are puzzling over the schizophrenic nature of Windows 8 and its ability to run “desktop” apps alongside the “Metro” apps with those fancy live tiles. Microsoft confirmed that Metro apps will only be available for purchase through its app store with a 30 percent cut of sales. This leads to the question of how customers will perceive Metro apps. Are they mobile apps or computer apps?

This distinction is significant, as customers of mobile apps treat them differently than computer apps. Users have no problem spending decent cash for computer apps that do what they need, but the opposite has been proven with mobile apps. Those apps are either very cheap (even a buck), or even free with in-app purchases providing the business model. This has been the case with iOS apps, and it is expected it will be the case with Android when data is available. The latter only recently enabled in-app purchases so it’s too early to tell.

Distimo has been following the mobile app situation closely, and in a recent report stated that a whopping 72 percent of revenue generated by iOS apps comes from in-app purchases. The apps are given away by the developer to get the apps in customers’ hands, and then sell stuff inside the app. The freemium model is becoming the proper business model for mobile apps in iOS, and will likely be the case with Android apps.

Windows 8 developers planning on producing Metro apps should be thinking about this. While the Metro interface will be on all Windows 8 systems, it is the interface that is optimized for tablets. It is only natural that consumers will expect apps to be similar in cost to those on other tablets. Developers that release a $50 Metro app may find it compared to a $3 iPad app, and that isn’t going to play well.

The decision of Microsoft to make Windows 8 run on all classes of devices may end up hurting the developers of Metro apps due to the public perception. It is not clear how this might play out in the real world, and that requires a leap of faith by Metro app developers just getting started.

Image credit: Distimo

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Mobile, Microsoft Windows 8, Computer, Microsoft Windows, Productivity, Operating Systems, Software, James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

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James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
vegaramos 30th Sep
@Robert Hahn Apple has not been very open about allowing competition for music in it's app store though. That should answer your question.
View in thread
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Return_of_the_jedi Updated - 20th Sep
Why is it all Zdnet's post have a question mark at the end?

PS. We come here for answers from the so called experts, not questions.
Now it's just all opinion and confusing non facts.
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Contributr
RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
JamesKendrick 20th Sep
@Return_of_the_jedi I'm sorry you hate that but this is a legitimate question that all Windows 8 Metro app developers better be asking. It is very pertinent.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Return_of_the_jedi Updated - 20th Sep
@JamesKendrick

My point is, with Win8 we need more specifics. The more I read for the "experts" the more confusing it becomes.

Will desktop apss run on Win8. Dunno, depends on who you ask. Nobody knows.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
xplorer1959 20th Sep
@JamesKendrick I agree James, while ending an article with a question mark may bother some readers, there's often a good reason to do that. As you say, the question you brought up is pertinent and you're as open to an answer as anyone else. Not saying I'm always a fan of your columns but I do read them and I think you handled what is clearly an open issue appropriately. I've been trying out Win 8 and frankly, I love it. But I would be concerned about the cost of software/apps at final release.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
iRMX 20th Sep
@Return_of_the_jedi I am more of a neutral person as I do lot of Win32 - low level stuff - for a living. However, I have seen many 2 or 3 year old kids use an iPhone, iPod or iPad WITHOUT EVER SEEING A USER GUIDE OR MANUAL. I have seen some kids pick up the same app in an iPhone and an iPad without any hesitation. If MS can do that, then they will succeed. Stevie Wonder just recently praised Steve Jobs for Voice Over, he said that the iPad/iPhone leveled the playing field for the blind. Is Windows8 similar to iPhone/iPad? Can people use it without ever looking at any guide or manual? Remember, all Windows users currently have been either taught the initial steps by somebody or read a user guide/manual.
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My daughter wasn't taught
LiquidLearner 20th Sep
@iRMX

And she has no problem using Windows. She's 5 now so she started about the time Windows 7 came out. She has no problem with Windows. She has no problem with my phone, WP7. She had no problem with Android.

Citing children as an ease of use study is silly. Children aren't afraid of new computing devices the way the adults seem to be. They don't need to be taught. They will learn and adapt without hesitation. That's the beauty of being a child. The first time she used my laptop, when she was 3, she asked where the mouse was. I told her it was the touchpad. I didn't have to show her what to do, it immediately made sense to her and she didn't skip a beat. That's what children do.
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Office guys go nuts
Robert Hahn Updated - 20th Sep
Good catch. This effect will of course include Microsoft Office, which is not only one of the Sacred Cows, it is one of the sacred Cash Cows. Is Microsoft really willing to sell Excel for ten bucks? I think we all know that the answer is 'no' but how bad does a knockoff have to be before people will reject it when the price difference between the Microsoft product and the knockoff exceeds fifty bucks?

Apple has been pretty open about allowing non-Apple competition to its own office-like software in the App store. Will Microsoft do the same, or will they try to keep Office competitors from getting access to customers?
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
vegaramos 30th Sep
@Robert Hahn Apple has not been very open about allowing competition for music in it's app store though. That should answer your question.
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Dumbest question ever
spaulagain Updated - 20th Sep
It all depends on what the app does. Should a simple photo viewer/editor cost $50? No, and if an app developer demands that price than they probably won't sell a single copy of it. Its called a MARKET. Demand/Supply will have a natural impact on the prices developers can charge for an app.

Also, if its a rich and high level production app that provides for a specialized level of data reading and editing, then of course the developer can charge more. This isn't rocket science.

Also, a Windows 8 Tablet does not equate to an iPad or Android tablet. Its functionality goes far beyond a glorified smartphone like its "competitors" and therefore there will more expensive apps available most likely. The Tablet is simply the evolution of the Laptop. The iPad, while a good product, is a very niche market. Blowing $600 on a device that can do less than a $300 netbook isn't exactly what the majority of people are looking for.

Just because its a touch focus app, doesn't equate it to all the current "mobile" apps.
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Contributr
RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
JamesKendrick 20th Sep
@spaulagain Many sophisticated apps exist for mobile platforms, and they have to sell dirt cheap. Good mind-mapping programs can be had on every mobile platform for $10. That is my point, that similar apps on Windows 8 are going to have to compete in price.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Skippy99 20th Sep
@JamesKendrick Exactly, "similar apps" is the key and the point @spaulagain was making. If you make an app similar to a 'mobile' app you can expect to get as much for it.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
eatredmeatfeelgood@... 20th Sep
@JamesKendrick yes but it is just not price, it is the market you now have easy access to, maybe you didn't before. somebody had to walk to a store. find your website. and also on iOS there are many specialist apps in the hundreds of dollars + range. So iOS is just not all cheap apps.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
tonymcs@... 20th Sep
@JamesKendrick

Frankly the mind mapping programs are overpriced and sorry they don't even come close to complex programming. The functionality and usage will set the price.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
BillDem 20th Sep
@spaulagain I find it amazing how many people who have still never owned a tablet keep saying a Windows 8 tablet goes far beyond an Android or iOS tablet in functionality. The functionality of a tablet is entirely based upon the applications you can get for it. So far, I have found multiple applications for every task I've ever dreamed up, no matter how obscure the interest. I edit Word and Excel documents. I check stocks. I work with WordPress. I access my Windows desktop via RDP. I do hundreds of different things that I never bothered doing with my desktop because finding an application for it would have been too much trouble. There are even applications which literally have no equivalent available on any desktop.

I think people just can't grasp what having 120,000 instantly-available tablet applications really means. It means an incredible amount of functionality in a thin, light, package with all-day battery life. It means you can be sitting in a waiting room at the dentist, decide you want a recipe program, and actually try out six of them before your name is called. This amount of functionality has never been available on anything before.

You mention that a $300 netbook runs Windows but a $600 tablet doesn't. Does your $300 netbook have a capacitive touch screen and 12+ hours of battery life at 1.6 pounds? Seriously, I already had a netbook. I completely stopped using it the day I got a tablet. Sorry, but the tablet does a lot more without needing Windows. You may have yourself convinced otherwise, but having used both, I can assure you that you are incorrect.

By the way, if price is really that important to you, you are going to be severely disappointed when you see the prices of equivalent Windows 8 tablets. I guarantee they will cost more than a $300 netbook and $600 tablet combined. In fact, you will likely be able to buy two of any other tablet for the price of one Windows 8 tablet.

I admit, I'm going to have a bit of fun laughing at all the folks who pay $1200 for a slim Windows 8 ARM tablet, take it home, try to run an existing application on it and find that it won't run because Windows 8 on ARM tablets won't run existing applications. I'll laugh just as hard at the folks lugging around thick, sluggish, $1500+, 3 pound, Intel-based tablets with 5 hour battery life, just so they CAN run existing Windows applications - albeit very slowly. Intel knows this and it's why they are trying to push vendors toward selling ultra-portables instead of tablets. People expect less from a laptop than they do from a tablet. Less battery life. Less portability.

Reality check - Running fat applications on a fat OS will require a fat tablet with a fat price. Everyone who thinks otherwise is in for a big shock when these things finally appear next year.

The apparently difficult to grasp moral of all this? You don't need Windows to get stuff done. The applications and ease of access to those applications are what really matter. Existing tablets already have far more than most people will ever need without the weight, short battery life, or high price of Windows. Fat is out. Lean is in.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
techwatcher 20th Sep
@BillDem
"I access my Windows desktop via RDP."

So, everything can't REALLY be handled by your tablet. Like all products, a 'tablet PC' won't be for everyone. It will be a nice alternative to those who prefer to have all of their applications with them; especially for travel and other times that connectivity isn't reliable, cost effective, or even available.
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Windows 8 is lean & mean!
MSFTWorshipper 20th Sep
@BillDem With a Windows 8 ARM tablet you will get the benefits of both mobile & Desktop experiences with all-day battery life and super performance!
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
wraith404 Updated - 20th Sep
@BillDem
Any operating system that allows direct access to the file system and can connect to network shares goes way beyond an iPad. If you're using a tablet predominantly, you clearly don't have any need to be truly productive, because your WPM is cut by a factor of 10. However, if you have trouble finding PC applications, you deserve iOS.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
vega799@... 20th Sep
@BillDem
Yes, you are absolutely right. Unless one buys a tablet how would they know if its useful or not and YOU have used both, netbook and a tablet. So what you are saying is right, very right.
Dude, you are typical fanboy who does the typical things on his tablet like, send one line emails, facebook, twitter, angry bird, listen to music etc...
No one is expecting you to understand usage of computers more than that. So stop writing these essays about your precious opinion and let other people say that they have to say than criticizing.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
vega799@... 20th Sep
@BillDem
Yes, you are absolutely right. Unless one buys a tablet how would they know if its useful or not and YOU have used both, netbook and a tablet. So what you are saying is right, very right.
Dude, you are typical fanboy who does the typical things on his tablet like, send one line emails, facebook, twitter, angry bird, listen to music etc...
No one is expecting you to understand usage of computers more than that. So stop writing these essays about your precious opinion and let other people say that they have to say than criticizing.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Nitz_Walsh 20th Sep
@BillDem
"edit Word and Excel documents. I check stocks. I work with WordPress. I access my Windows desktop via RDP. I do hundreds of different things that I never bothered doing with my desktop because finding an application for it would have been too much trouble. "

Ah yes - such obscure uses for a PC. How would you ever find software to handle *MS Office* documents, RDP, or check stocks?! What ever did we do before the iPad?

Seriously? Did you try to pick those examples to make your argument look the most ridiculous?

I "can" edit Word/Excel files and RDP to servers on my iPad as well - doesn't mean it's not incredibly painful to do so. When I have absolutely nothing else, sure - it's nice to have the option. But I still carry around my netbook with me for a reason.

And what is this nonsense about a $1200 ARM Win8 tablet or $1500 x86? Why, a year from now, would tablet prices *double*?

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acer-acer-iconia-32gb-tablet-with-keyboard-dock-station-w500-bz607-silver-w500-bz607/10168308.aspx?path=b223c7de23dd790373bbe0dbf9553edeen02

That's a Win7 home premium tablet from Acer - $599. 2 gigs, 32GB SSD, keyboard dock station, dual-core AMD C50 with integrated GPU. It's not a barnburner performance-wise (albeit the AMD's integrated graphics blow away Intel's), but the point is that it is selling *now* for $599.

Pricing and size/weight of Win8 tablets is not going to be an issue, Intel and AMD are very aggressively targeting the ultra low-power segment and I would actually be surprised 2 years from now if there's really a market for ARM Windows, the gap in performance/watt will narrow significantly in the coming period.

Win8's problem will not be the availability of hardware to run it, it will be trying to meld its two interfaces so that they make sense. Right now they do not. Win8's biggest challenge is MS's "vision" at the moment.
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Why differentiate?
Michael Alan Goff 20th Sep
N/T
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Why is it so hard to see Windows 8 for what it is?
LiquidLearner 20th Sep
I'm not sure why everyone is confusing themselves more and more. Apps that are designed for a tablet interface, aka Metro apps, will have a business model that matches current mobile app structure. Traditional applications that run in the desktop environment will continue to sell as they always have.

Stop thinking of Windows 8 as a single OS. It's really not. Sure, the underlying kernel may be the same but Metro is designed for mobile devices (and probably large screen devices, such as your TV, where you interact through voice and motions via Kinect instead of touch). The traditional desktop will be there because using Office for anything other than a quick edit when in tablet mode would be painful. Office isn't going to be "Metro'ized", although I wouldn't be surprised if something akin to Mobile Office existed like it does on Windows Phone 7. That's not to say the traditional desktop application will be replaced, that would be incredibly stupid.

Windows 8 is like have two operating systems in one so that you can have a single device that can serve multiple roles. Tablet hardware will easily be powerful enough to run a full desktop a year from now on par with a $600 desktop today. So you take your tablet with you, you use it is a tablet. You use applications that make sense when you have it in that mode. You could then carry a bluetooth keyboard and mouse along with you and use your traditional applications in an interface that makes sense. Or you could take your tablet to your home or office, dock it, and you have a fully functional desktop. In that mode you may not even bother invoking the Metro interface. The fact that Metro can be disabled and the traditional start menu enabled via a registry tweak in the current developer preview shows that you will be able to configure this with a hardware profile type setup as the software moves closer to launch. Stop acting like Metro is going to take over for everything. It's not. It's allowing a full featured operating system to act as a mobile device when required, and a full featured OS when required. Why is it so hard for every blogger, and reader it seems, to grasp such a simple concept? And why does it seem people aren't excited by the idea of that? I personally couldn't ask for more from a tablet, because it gives a tablet the ability to completely replace my laptop. Something current tablets do not do.
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AMEN!!!
spaulagain 20th Sep
@LiquidLearner

I'm glad someone else see's Windows 8 for what it is. I too am utterly shocked by the number of people who are either too shorted sighted or flat out stupid to see the obvious path Win8 provides in the future of personal computing.

It allows for optimal flexibility of a device without compromising usability in a variety of use cases AND does so without requiring multiple devices/OSes.

Everyone ewwss and ahhhs in movies like Minority Report and Iron Man with touch screens everywhere and motion controlled interaction and a relatively flat UI on the screen. But when Microsoft brings that to reality, people have a hissy fit!
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I'm schizophrenic and so am I
Robert Hahn 20th Sep
@LiquidLearner
Stop thinking of Windows 8 as a single OS. It's really not...
Windows 8 is like have two operating systems in one
You really don't see why people think this is gibberish? That Microsoft itself doesn't know what it's doing?
Forget the technical underpinnings for a minute. Ask yourself what price levels consumers are going to expect when they visit the Microsoft App Store to get Metro apps. Won't people used to smartphone apps for $5 jump out of their socks if they see a Metro app for $50? Microsoft (or its Munchkins) can say that it's all justified by the WonderfulnessOfWindows(tm) and the HeavenlyProductiivity(tm), but aren't consumers going to compare the complexity and productivity of the $10 iPad apps like GarageBand and Pages with anything on Metro? I think they will, and if word gets out that Windows 8 on tablets "might look nice, but the apps are really expensive," that's going to dent Windows 8 sales... at least on tablets.

Microsoft has a very complex dance to execute if it doesn't want to set fire to its Office pricing model, and the similar pricing models of its "expensive software" partners like Adobe and Autocad.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Skippy99 20th Sep
@LiquidLearner Well put. +1
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
silverdoe 20th Sep
so you expect Adobe CS6 suite will be priced at $3?
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Good idea! Call the VCs
Robert Hahn 20th Sep
@silverdoe
Think of it as an opportunity. Adobe will not want to sell CS6 for $3. Therefore the first guy who shows up with even a halfway-decent Dreamweaver knockoff for $5 will take it to the Moon.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
TechJunkiesCA 20th Sep
"The decision of Microsoft to make Windows 8 run on all classes of devices may end up hurting the developers of Metro apps due to the public perception" Nonsense and a dumb question! But you can't help yourself eh James?

Creating a marketplace where one does not really exist can in NO way hurt developers for starters. And 2, not all apps are a dollar! You think MS (also a software dev) will be forced to sell a metro office suite for $5 because of public perception on mobile apps?

Would a metro Photoshop sell at its current price structure? If it has the same capabilities you bet your a** it will. Put down the hateraid and stop looking for problems where they dont exist. It's embarrassing.
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Et tu brute?
johnfenjackson@... Updated - 20th Sep
Other related questions:

1. Once M$ METROfy OFFICE, how much will they charge for it? My guess is the same as now.

2. If IBM were to METROfy their version of Office and it had similar functionality, how much would they charge for it? Same as M$. Problem is M$ would want their 30%. This is an issue for the competition authorities

3. I cannot understand how ZDNET bloggers can construct a whole article wondering whether METRO apps. will be cheap ... yet announce M$'$ 30% cut as if it were natural, when in fact there is no charge for apps. in Windows now. Of course there is no STORE listing either ... but it will be a huge change if M$ shift to a parasitic relationship with ecosystem developers, following the current symbiotic state. No doubt this elephant was swept well and truly under the carpet at BILD.

The whole position will become more acute as METRO is accepted and legacy desktop apps. wither.

I think there is going to be a big bust up on this topic. I was hoping ZDNET would be on consumers' side but it appears ZDNET will sit on the fence over this major financial issue.
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The consumer wins, thanks to you
Robert Hahn 20th Sep
I think I can get Microsoft to agree to the following deal, but before I take it to them I want to make sure you're interested.

They will drop the 30% fee, provided that you supply the servers required to meet the app store demand; the rent, utilities and insurance on the building they're in; plus hire and pay the people needed to set up and maintain everything.

Are you willing to do that for free? If so we probably have a deal.
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It's a deal!
johnfenjackson@... 20th Sep
uTorrent plus the 1,000,000,000 existing PC's. Already set up and ready to go!

M$ to provide the initial DRM'd seed and take the money before issuing the unlock codes.

If M$ want to distribute the big stuff like Office and W8 via AKAMAI ... that's OK too.

My cut is only 0.03% of the global software turnover.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
anono 20th Sep
@Robert Hahn
For free? No I wouldn't do that. But even a 1% cut seems like a great deal for me. I would make 1% every time something is downloaded off my server.

Essentially, for allowing others to simply download software off their servers, MS will probably have margins >99% off their metro app store revenue. They would have a great amount of revenue too considering how big Windows is.

Why can they do this, while completely locking out competitors out of this high margin, low investment market? Because of their monopoly of course.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
anono 20th Sep
@johnfenjackson@...
I agree. I am concerned with the DoJ's attitude towards MS. It's somewhat understandable given Microsoft's failure in the consumer space has left it declining for years in relative to their competitors.

But just as the DoJ has turned a blind eye towards them, they seemed to have come up with a bunch of new ideas on how to leverage their existing monopolies to be anti-competitive.

Most notably, why is Office only released for WP7 (and soon Symbian) despite the fact that iOS and android have a much larger user base. Given Office's dominant position (if not monopoly) shouldn't the DoJ be looking into why MS can favour its own products and that of its partner.

Now with Metro apps being available only in the Windows store, MS will once again be using a monopoly for anti-competitive purposes.
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Another piece of the M$ pricing strategy ...
johnfenjackson@... 20th Sep
Mary Jo Foley is trying to work out whether there will be an ARM DESKTOP ... Jason Perlow thinks the effort of producing this (remember it would have to exactly like W8 with all the usual desktop stuff and new W8 desktop enhancements) is prohibitive. However various people have pointe dout something I'd forgotten: Ballmer demonstrated an ARM version of W7 plus at CES! With WORD and Powepoint running on three different ARM SOC's!!

So now it is clear why there will be no plugin architecture for METRO. The excuse of 'Flash is too big to run on ARM' is actually another anti-competitive move. For if Apple/M$ allow extensible frameworks over the most important app. (web browser) ... then developers could introduce e.g. Flash games or java programs into METRO without Apple/M$ taking a cut.

So I say again to ZDNET: Et tu Brute?
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Mobile apps are computer apps
John L. Ries 20th Sep
It's just that your cellular phone/PDA is a much smaller device than the thing sitting under your desk.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
Return_of_the_jedi Updated - 20th Sep
@John L. Ries

" ... the thing sitting under your desk."

The irony is, they still refer to it as desktop.
It move from the top of the desk years ago.
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
wraith404 20th Sep
You won't see any Metro apps on my desktop when I use windows 8, because the first thing I'm doing is changing the registry to disable the whole shell.
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MS doesn't get it!
jjems Updated - 20th Sep
Here comes another successful product like Vista! I have never seen a company so out of touch with its customer base! And in typical fashion they will price themselves right out of the marketplace! Oh yeah and like all the OS's its created it will be bug ridden and unreliable!
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RE: Windows 8: Are Metro apps mobile apps or computer apps?
roytyrell 20th Sep
microsoft is a very confused and unfocused company. they are abandoning there core customers, business users, for a share of apple's pie (pun intended).

windows 8 looks sad, schizophrenic, desperate, greedy and stupid - all in one.

This is Windows Me all over again.
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Curious ...
johnfenjackson@... 21st Sep
... how this post has attracted so little comment.

I regard pricing as such a critical issue that I would have promoted it to 'The Big Debate'.

Is everybody just going to lie down for M$?

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