Microsoft has just announced that it will be offering a generous 80% revenue share to developers who make apps for the upcoming Windows store. The windows store will go hand in hand with the new Windows 8, due to have a beta release in February 2012.

This goes to show the kind of direction Microsoft wants to go with it’s new operating system for tablets and perhaps even phones. It’s also an obvious move to bring more get more developers away from Apple and Android to write apps for Windows.

As long as the software, or app, has made at least $25,000 in revenue, Microsoft plans to give developers an 80 percent cut. Apple now gives developers 70 percent of the revenue that apps bring in. If a Windows app hasn’t reached the threshold yet, Microsoft will share 70 percent as well.

The bigger cut to successful developers is the latest sign that Microsoft is trying to compete with Apple — and with phones running Google’s Android — on the app front by luring developers with financial incentives.

“We intend to offer the industry’s best terms, so that the best apps make developers a lot more money on Windows than on any other platform,” Ted Dworkin, partner program manager for the Windows Store, said in a blog post Tuesday. – ABC News

Will Apple also increase it’s revenue share in turn? Probably not right away, but if Windows proves to be a worthy adversary in the app market, I could see that happening. Until then, Windows has a bit of catchup to do in the app arena.

They are in fact offering a 10% revenue increase, so it will be appealing to developers, but Windows won’t have the kind of numbers that Apple and Android have for quite a while.

By having such a high revenue share, Windows is obviously not going to be making as much money as it’s competitors.

In other words, Microsoft makes more money by getting people to buy devices running Windows software — even if it means sacrificing some of the app revenue to make that happen. - ABC News

They seem to be using the same type of marketing tactics as Amazon is with it’s Kindle Fire – by losing money upfront and gaining a larger market share in the long term. In the end, that seems to be what matters the most anyways. Make your device the most appealing, and even lose money by doing so, but make up for it later with customer loyalty. This is especially true when it comes to the computer industry, since people only purchase a new computer, tablet, or phone once every few years.

Windows 8 will run on tablets and PCs and will most likely have a beta release next February, and then possibly a full launch by October 2012 according to rumors. Microsoft hasn’t indicated whether or not it will be released on any phones yet.- ABC News