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Microsoft has suddenly become a red-hot mobile app developer

Published Feb 5th, 2015 9:30PM EST
Microsoft Mobile Apps Outlook Sunrise

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Microsoft was slow to get into the mobile world in terms of its own mobile platform but the company is making up for it by diving head-first into the realm of mobile apps. Business Insider’s Steve Kovach notes that Microsoft has been on a real roll lately with great mobile apps, first by releasing its highly acclaimed Outlook email app and then by buying up popular calendar app Sunrise.

RELATED: The best Android Wear app we’ve seen was just released by… Microsoft?

This past fall, Microsoft also released three hugely promising Android apps: Torque, an Android Wear app that takes away the added step of having to say, “OK Google…” before you give your watch a voice command or ask it a question; Next Lock Screen, which adds more useful information and application shortcuts to your lock screen; and the Journeys & Notes app that lets you take location-based notes of places you’re visiting that can be shared with other people who visit that specific location in the future.

Microsoft really started to embrace mobile app development when it released mobile versions of its popular Office productivity suite and it hasn’t looked back since. And it’s not just that Microsoft is making good apps of its own but that it’s wisely decided to offer more integration with established apps that are already popular, such as its decision to integrate cloud storage service Dropbox with its own Office software instead of forcing users to only use the company’s own OneDrive.

The bottom line is even if Windows Phone never closes its app gap, Microsoft’s position in the mobile app realm looks pretty strong.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.