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Comment by acchow | Hacker News Reader

It does have fewer apps. No instagram, vine, youtube, dropbox, G+ hangouts (really important for a lot of software engineers), tripadvisor offline city guides, starbucks app, airline check-in from many carriers (United surprisingly does have)...

That was just going through the main homescreens on my Android.

> I actually only use three "apps" that aren't built in on my WP8 device.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here... You can't use apps that don't exist, so it's not surprising at all to me that you "only use three apps" that aren't built into the device...

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My WP homescreen has several Nokia HERE apps: Drive, Commute, Transit, Maps, City Lens. You'll have a hard time finding anything that good on iOS or Android.

Then there are clone apps for allmost all the apps you mention (Instagram, Vine, Youtube, Dropbox, Starbucks, Hangouts). Probably not as good [1], but they work and often there's a native way to accomplish the same thing, making an app redundant (i.e. install Filters and share from the Pictures Hub instead of using Instagram).

[1] http://pocketnow.com/2013/08/14/missing-apps-on-windows-phon...

> (i.e. install Filters and share from the Pictures Hub instead of using Instagram)

That's not how social networks work.

I have a Win 8 tablet and the app store is a complete joke. I don't think the "use the browser" argument really holds any water. Lots of UX features are only really available when you go the native route, i.e the new "picture in picture" feature in the Android Youtube app.

Windows 8 is not Windows Phone 8.

>Lots of UX features are only really available when you go the native route, i.e the new "picture in picture" feature in the Android Youtube app.

Could you think of a less worthless feature to demonstrate with though? The YouTube app is getting so bad (certainly on iOS, I assume with Android too) that it's getting where the website will have a better UX than the native app shortly.

Excellent alternatives exist for all but maybe one of those apps. This is coming from someone who owns and uses a Lumia 1020 daily.

Seriously? As i said below there is a web browser too.

None of those have any real value for me personally so I can understand where Android might be more suitable but I really don't need an app for any of those.

As for trip advisor city guides, Nokia Here Maps does the same stuff offline (and a load more!)

The only missing point from above is that YouTube works fine in the browser. The press are full of shit about interoperability there. Not only that there are a multitude of quality youtube apps but you don't need them.

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