Buyers of Windows 8 smartphones need to check that apps that offer vital functionality on their iPhone and Android devices are available for their new Microsoft-inspired handset.
Apps can be either missing, of relatively poor quality compared with other ecospheres, or misrepresented.
Take, for example, the Gmail app. The Windows store version doesn't even download mail.
Of the top 10 paid apps in Australia in Apple's iTunes store, only three have appeared as Windows phone apps so far.
The popular photo app Instagram - a staple for many iOS and Android phone users, has yet to debut in the Windows store. And there's no proprietary DropBox app, only workarounds. Users are better off adapting to Microsoft's SkyDrive.
There's no Flipboard, Real Racing, Snapseed, Nook books, Google Maps, and Google +, and while Skype is there, there's user complaints about connectivity and video quality. Viber, another data-calling app, can only do messaging, not calls.
Users are also complaining about delays in notification in the live tile for WhatsApp messenger, one of the most popular apps over all platforms.
There's also no apps for remote access using VMWare, Team Viewer, or LogMein.
Many Australian-produced apps are yet to appear and probably won't for some time. Woolworths, Coles and Big W apps haven't migrated.
There's no Guvera music or ABC iView.
Newly launched apps too take longer to appear, such as Twitter's new Vine video app.
Nokia has tried to bridge some of this gap in its own store. YouSendit, Transfer my Data, TuneIn radio, CNN and GroupOn can be downloaded from there.
