On Wednesday, we listed the top 10 current best selling paid Windows 8 apps from the Windows Store. While most paid apps have some kind of free trial version, we also wanted to show the current list of the most downloaded free Windows 8 apps that are currently available from the store as well.
Currently, the store lists Microsoft's own Xbox SmartGlass Windows 8 app in the number one free app position, with number two going to Microsoft's Skype client for Windows 8. This is interesting because up until this week, Skype was the number one most downloaded free app on the store. It's possible that people who got new Windows 8 PCs and tablets for Christmas, and also got a new Xbox 360 console, have been downloading the Xbox SmartGlass app more this week than the Skype app.
In the number three slot is the Windows 8 Netflix app, proving once again that the streaming video service is popular no matter what the platform. You can check out a recent interview we did with Netflix's PR rep about the app.
In fourth place comes the Google Search app, which shows that lots of people want to have quick and easy access to Google's search engine on Windows 8. It's too bad Google doesn't have plans to release any more Windows 8 apps.
Fifth place on the list goes to Facebook Touch, a third party Facebook app that's developed by a team that's calling itself FBTouch. The app is supposed to give users a way to access their Facebook account with a UI designed for Windows 8 touch screens. As we have reported before, Facebook currently has not announced any plans to release a dedicated Windows 8 app of their own.
Sixth on the list is the Amazon shopping app for Windows 8, and in seventh place comes Jetpack Joyride, the popular side scroller action game from developer Halfbrick Studios. The company also holds seventh place on the current list of the most popular paid Windows 8 apps with Fruit Ninja.
Eighth place belongs to an app with a very long name, YouTube MP3 & Videos downloader. The app, developed by "SmokedByWindows8", has its main feature in the title; it lets people download and save YouTube videos to their Windows 8 PC or tablet. Again, don't expect Google to release a YouTube Windows 8 app of their own anytime in the near future.
Ninth and tenth place on the free Windows 8 app list are occupied by two games. Microsoft Solitaire Collection is the latest Windows time occupier game that up until now was included with previous versions of Windows out of the box and tenth place belongs to Cut the Rope, the popular puzzle game from developer ZeptoLab. Technically, this is a free trial version of the full game; it's unlocked via an in-app purchase.
We will keep an eye out on the free Windows 8 app list in the weeks and months to come and will post any major changes to the list as more Windows 8 apps are added to the Windows Store.
Images via their various owners
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