Taxify, the Estonian taxi booking application successfully taking on Uber in the region, is now available to Windows Phone users. The app has so far launched in the App Store and Google Play, while Windows Phone users could only use the web version. With 15% of Finnish business people still using Windows Phone, it is certainly a way to acquire customers.
“Due to strong demand from our customers from both Finland and the Baltics, we have invested our development efforts into Windows Phone solution. With this milestone, we are delighted to say that Taxify taxi booking service is now available for the majority of all smartphone users. Developments will of course continue and more interesting news are still to come within forthcoming months,” reveals Taxify’s CEO, Markus Villig.
While many startups overlook Windows Phone users due to their small numbers, there are also advantages to developing this version. Despite 1,300,000 apps on Google Play and 1,200,000 on App Store, the average person only uses 28 of them and 65.5% of people download 0 (!!) apps per month. The 300,000 Windows Store market therefore has 4x less competition for a slot among these 28 apps. This gives you a higher chance of being discovered and downloaded, especially if your target audience is on Windows Phone.
Another reason why startups may consider adding a Windows Phone app to their product offering is the development support provided by Microsoft. Taxify admits to have benefited from it.
“Microsoft supports innovative companies like Taxify through various means, such as promoting the app on relevant markets in order to help accelerate the business and secure the investment made into the Windows Ecosystem. Taxify has great potential to become very popular among Windows Phone users in Finland, the Baltics, and other countries as well,” said Mikael Stendahl, Head of Partner and Developer Relations, Microsoft, Nordics.
