Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) Pushing Windows Phone 7 Via Apps

As far as numbers go, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) doesn't even come close to the numbers of apps competitor Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) has for their iPhone, which now stands at about 300,000, But the over 3,000 they do have are being offered at the lowest prices in the industry.

This is primarily a push by Microsoft to market their Windows Phone 7 during the Christmas season.

Canaccord says, "According to researchers at Distimo, who track sales of mobile phone applications, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 store boasts the lowest prices in the industry. The firm notes that paid-for applications in the new Windows Phone 7 store cost an average of $1.95. For the most popular 100, the average price is $2.54 – less than the average of $3.05 for most stores, but more expensive than those available for the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone. Launched last month, the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace boasts a catalogue of more than 3,000 applications, considerably more than the 1,350 the old Windows Marketplace for Mobile had last year. By contrast, Apple’s App Store has 300,000 applications, while Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android Marketplace boasts over 200,000 applications. Microsoft is making a big app push to promote the Windows Phone 7 this holiday season, integrating apps in Bing Visual Search results, as well as within the Xbox dashboard."

Microsoft was trading at $25.24, falling slightly to 0.01, or 0.04 percent at 2:47 PM EST.