It’s June 30th and its Windows Store Sunday! So what does that mean? It means it is 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 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.
Currently in the Windows Store as of June 30th, the top five free apps in the United States based on popularity are:
Let’s not forget the top five paid apps currently in the Windows Store:
- 4 Elements II Special Edition
- LCARS Interface
- Fruit Ninja
- Angry Birds Star Wars
- Where’s My Mickey? XL
As of June 30th, there are 99,401 in the Windows Store, an increase of 5,103 apps in just one week. Compared to last week, the top-five free apps list saw only one change. This week’s list now features a new app called Endless Skater, which is a great game for those who enjoy skateboarding. Last week, Instagram Now was on the top-five free list, but this week it is nowhere to be found. A few changes in the top-five paid list, including the addition of Where’s My Mickey XL, while LCARS Interface drops from first place to second place on the list.
During this week, Slacker rolled out a new update to its Windows 8 app that offers performance improvements as well as interface changes. For those unaware, Slacker is an awesome source of streaming music and is a great alternative to other music station services. Adobe also released yet another update for its Adobe Reader Touch app featuring the ability to save your document, as well as other new features.
During the Build 2013 developer conference, Microsoft revealed that more “popular” apps were coming to Windows 8.1, including Foursquare, OpenTable, and Rhapsody apps, as well as more Disney apps such as Avengers Initiative, Monsters University, Temple Run: Oz and Wreck It Ralph.
Microsoft also revealed during the Build 2013 developer conference that the new Windows Store in Windows 8.1 now provides better development opportunities for app developers. This includes Adobe’s upcoming Digital Publishing Suite, PayPal SDK, game development platform integration with Unity Pro 4, and more. So stay tuned on that!
Every week, we will feature one app or game that we will rank as the “top” Windows Store app for the week. It doesn’t mean that this app is better than every other app out there, it just means that this app should get your attention this week. The following week, we will showcase another great app, and so on. So here we go:
The Nook app is a great app to read over three million Nook books, including over one million books that are free to read. The Nook team recently rolled out an update for the Nook app for Windows 8, providing users with many new features and improvements.
So what’s new in the latest version of the Nook app?
- A simplified user interface that makes it easier to browse, search and find the books and magazines you want
- Highlights, annotations and dictionary look-up – plus find words or phrases in books
- Faster performance – open the app, scroll and turn pages faster than ever before
- Multi-tasking muscle – download books, magazines and comics in the background while you read, shop or use other apps
- More magazines – including People, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Real Simple, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly
- Side-loading of your own PDFs and ePub documents from your local drive
Nook is also offering readers a 50% discount on select New York Times best-sellers and popular magazine issues if you get the updated app by July 9. Hit the download link below to snag the app, its free!