Local developers have jumped on the app bandwagon with a strong showcase of Windows 8 apps at a special Techday and app showcase for media organised by Microsoft Malaysia today. The excitement surrounding Windows 8 continues to gain momentum as more people are experiencing the new touch-centric OS and the slew of growing innovative apps.
Some leading brands proudly showed off their lifestyle apps, including one of the first – Sunway Group, with their Sunway Lifestyle app. Other familiar brands included The Star Online, Malaysiakini, myStarjob.com, Air Asia, iProperty, Resorts World Genting, MYDIN, DiGi, Yeylol, Soft Space and MyTeksi. All apps are now downloadable from the Windows Store.
Dinesh Nair, Developer and Platform Evangelist Lead, Microsoft Malaysia said earlier, “People want choices that fit their lifestyles and needs, and we are working together with leading local brands and the softwa developer community to create apps that peole prefer and appreciate.”
A key executive in Yeylol Technology has this to say when we spoke to them today, “Windows 8 is an exciting new platform. We think it offers the best tablet experience as compared to others out there.” Yeylol also develops apps for iOS and Android. Their education app which they showcased will be ready in 1-2 weeks. He expects the approval process to take about 5 days.
The Windows Store currently features thousands of apps from all around the world. Software developers consider the Windows Store as an unprecendented channel to reach hundreds of millions of users globally.
The app store was opened to Malaysian developers in September this year and Microsoft is continuously working with developers to get their apps live.
“Developing Windows 8 applications has been an exciting journey so far. From the creativity point of view, there is a lot to consider – building the Live Tiles experience, the Modern UI, as well as making our apps support touch, mouse, keyboard and pen. However, I am most excited about the opportunity the Windows 8 platform represents — the Windows Store offers me an easy way to gain visibility, build a business, and create a user base. This isn’t just Microsoft’s version of the iPad, it is also the next generation of Windows;so the market potential is huge,” said Pun Soong Teck, more popularly known as Tc Pun, who developed the MyTeksi app as well as the popular Malaysia Traffic app on Windows 8 and KL Traffic app on Windows Phone.
We had the opportunity to test out the apps at right after the media Q&A with the 12 developers and were impressed with the polish and quality of some of them.
We’re working with Microsoft to bring you some updates on gaming on Windows 8, so stay tuned!
