Tech giant Microsoft has teamed up with Toronto-based app company
Polar Mobile in what is the largest deal ever in Canadian app development history. As reported by the
Globe & Mail, Polar Mobile, whose clients include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Time magazine and the Canadian Football League, has signed on to build 350 apps for the Windows Phone--Windows' first foray into the Smart Phone industry.
"The deal means that Polar will build Windows Phone versions of virtually all its existing 350 apps for BlackBerrys, iPhones, phones powered by Google's Android operating system and other smart phones. The firm will also build Windows-compatible apps for other content providers that it signs up in the future."
"For Microsoft, the contract means it can launch its new product with readily-available apps � Polar plans to have at least some of them completed by the time Windows Phone 7 handsets hit the market � as it struggles to compete with its rivals' app stores, which already contain tens or hundreds of thousands of apps."
"What has changed today versus two years ago is that they're not selling phones on hardware and price," said Polar CEO Kunal Gupta. "They realize that people are buying based on apps and content, and they see us as a one-to-many strategy."
"Unlike traditional app development shops of similar size � Polar's staff numbers 40 people � Polar doesn't develop custom applications for clients from scratch. Instead, the company uses a template model. In essence, its customers fill out a digital form listing their requirements, their content feeds and other variables, and the software creates the app automatically."
"That process allows Polar to churn out products at a much faster pace. At the beginning of the year, the company had produced 50 apps. Today, that number is up to 350, and Mr. Gupta expects to hit 500 by the end of the year."
read full story
hereoriginal source
Globe & Mail