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Google has 'no plans' to build apps for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8

The search giant cited a lack of users as the main reason why it will not develop Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 applications.
Written by Zack Whittaker, Contributor
Google currently only has its search app available for Windows 8, but more could be on the way soon if usage share picks up. Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Google will hold off developing for the Windows 8 desktop or Windows Phone 8 mobile platforms, citing a lack of users. However, the search giant did not rule out a move once user numbers start picking up.

Speaking to V3, Google Apps product management director Clay Bavor said the firm has, "no plans to build out Windows 8 apps." Google already has a search application for the Windows 8 platform -- which it released just before the Windows 8 launch in October -- but will retain its focus on the iOS and Android platforms, which are currently leading at the top in the mobile space.

Ruling out the latest Microsoft desktop and mobile platforms, Bavor said:

We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8. If that changes, we would invest there, of course.

Trends change over time and there's no doubt that given a period of a few months, we will see more and more Google services arriving on the latest platforms. Google is likely as much in the dark over Windows 8 and Windows Phone usage figures than the rest of the industry, however the search giant probably has a better indication from back-end analytics provided by its search pages.

There are some figures to suggest that sales of the two platforms are increasing modestly, but before the December holidays, there will likely not be a significant rise until the new year.

Microsoft recently said that Windows Phone sales are up by 300 percent, while there's a slightly more mixed (and confusing) picture for Windows 8. Analytics firm StatCounter said that after one month, Windows 8 Internet usage is trailing behind what Windows 7 accomplished during the first 30 days after launch.

While the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant said that 40 million Windows 8 licenses had been sold during the first month of availability, research firm NPD added context to the figures. However, ZDNet's Ed Bott said the figures release was like a scene out of Groundhog Day, and that it will take "a year or two" for the PC market to adjust after the post-PC evolution of tablets and smartphones. 

(via V3.co.uk)

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