It’s now time to take a look at the top, best, and most popular Windows 8 and Windows RT apps available in the Windows Store. We will go over some stats for the Windows Store as well as highlight one app for your downloading pleasure. This is yet another post in our weekly feature called “Windows Store Sunday” where we highlight what’s going on with the Windows Store.
As of July 14th, there are 104,917 in the Windows Store, an increase of 3,194 apps in just one week. Compared to last week, the top-five free apps had very minor changes. Facebook Now is still the top free app, with Skype coming in second place. The Netflix app is back on the top-five free list, which isn’t surprising since the app received a new update a few days ago bringing along bug fixes and performance improvements.
The top five free apps in the United States based on popularity are:
In the top-five paid list, Angry Birds Star Wars is still the number one paid app in the Windows Store. Other top paid-apps include Hydro Thunder Hurricane and Sparkle 2, while Bejeweled LIVE, Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Star Wars are still on the top paid list. Here are the top five paid apps in the United States:
Microsoft may have surpassed the 100k app mark, but that doesn’t mean every app in the store is useful or non-deceptive. A quick look at the Windows Store will reveal that there are many apps that are “deceptive” and trick you into purchasing the app, only to find out that its just some lame “tutorial.” You can read all about this here.
While browsing the Windows Store, we saw that Microsoft’s recently released Network Speed Test app was part of the “top free” apps list. This free app offers detailed information on your upload and download speeds. Microsoft recently released the same app for Windows Phone 8 not too long ago and now those on Windows 8 can enjoy this app’s benefits.
“How fast is your Internet connection? Network Speed Test measures your network delay, download speed and upload speed. Using servers all over the world, Network Speed Test measures your network connection’s latency and throughput. Based on your connection’s speed, Network Speed Test will tell you what activities you might be able to do, such as stream music or video calls. Slide to the right to see a history of your previous tests for easy comparisons,” the app description reads.
This app allows you to measure your network latency, download and upload speeds, as well as see information about your network such as the SSID, BSSID, and WiFi hotspot information. You can also see your past network performance history. The app is free and available for download via the Windows Store, or just click the download link below.
