to base that kind of argument on them. The iPhone didn't have any apps when it came out other than what Apple itself chose to put in; it took almost a year before they decided to let third-party developers write for it. Android, too, didn't have any apps worth speaking of when it came out, though they did open their SDKs much more quickly. Microsoft has already opened their SDKs for WP8/RT development and as such could realize a much faster growth of apps than you seem to expect.

Which touches on the other part of that point: WP8 is different enough from WP7 and predecessors to totally eliminate the vast majority of their faults; however, WP8/RT must also battle the reputation that the old WinMob gained--and it takes work to reverse that kind of momentum. People really need to come into the Windows 8 ecosystem with an open mind--something of which very few seem capable. Even as a long-time Apple user for MacOS, OS X and iOS, I can see the potentials here--as long as Microsoft itself doesn't mess it up.