Android Market Eclipses Apple App Store for Free Apps

The Google Android Market eclipsed the Apple App Store for iPhone in terms of free applications and now has 134,342 free applications, while the Apple App Store iPhone has 121,845 free applications, Distimo reports.

If all application stores maintain their current growth pace, approximately five months from now Google Android Market will be the largest store in terms of number of applications followed by the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry App World and Nokia Ovi Store.

The rise of Windows Phone 7 and the relative decline of BlackBerry and Nokia as leaders in the smartphone category might have something to do with the state of the respective app stores. Some observers would say that the Microsoft deal with Nokia, which has Nokia essentially abandoning Symbian for Windows Phone 7, will vault Microsoft into position number three in the smart phone OS market, eclipsing RIM.

Looking at history, one would be hard pressed to imagine why RIM would remain a force, or perhaps even viable, in a market so dominated by the iPhone and Android, with Microsoft claiming the third spot, in terms of share. There is not much precedent for a viable "number four or five" provider in the mobile OS ecosystem. So as shocking as the assertion might be, it appears RIM's best days, even its existence as an independent company, are at grave risk.

The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace will also be larger than the Nokia Ovi Store and BlackBerry App World prior to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace being available for even a full year, Distimo says.
One year after launching the iPad, Apple will be confronted with its first serious competition as both BlackBerry and Google enter the emerging tablet market.

Apple has already seized momentum and grown the App Store for iPad in the first year to 75,755 applications developed by 21,975 publishers. Daily downloads in the "Top 100 Overall" paid and free applications for iPad combined exceed 500,000, while the daily revenue in the Top 100 paid is approximately $400,000 excluding in-app purchases.

http://www.distimo.com/publications/

Android Market Gets AT&T Carrier Billing

Android users who are customers of AT&T now can use AT&T "Direct Carrier Billing" for purchases from the Android Market.

The move shows the role a mobile service provider can play in mobile payments for digital goods, even though carrier billing has been available for decades.

Some firms using carrier billing from a number of carriers say the payment method can be expensive without volume, but Android Marketplace should not have a "volume of transactions" problem.

Android Developers Blog: More Payment Options in Android Market

Multiple Android App Stores a "Net Win" for Android

Google apparently believes Android app stores operated by other companies, such as Verizon, possibly Amazon or Best Buy, are a "net win," since the goal of the app stores is to create revenue for developers, not Google.

To the extent that multiple Android stores support that goal, it is a win for everybody in the ecosystem.

160,000 Androids A Day

Google's Andy Rubin says 160,000 Android devices are being activated every day, up from 100,000 a day in May. Apps in the Android Market also are up to 68,000 or so.

160,000 Android devices being activated every day; 68,000 apps in Market | Android Central

Android Market Growing Pains

Google probably is learning as much from Android Market feedback as it apparently did in thinking it could sell unlocked Android devices direct to consumers from a website, without the normal retail store and call center support. As it turns out, end users are comfortable with retail store experiences and do expect a fairly robust level of customer support from call centers and retail personnel.

In terms of the Android Market, perhaps Google is learning that it has to communicate better with developers; that throwing up apps to see what happens is just not going to work when dealing with third party developers.

As it turns out, some developers have been complaining that app download counts tracked by the Market have been inaccurate. For any developer that sells apps, that's lost revenue. For developers providing free apps, the apparent loss of downloads can affect ranking, hence the quantity of future downloads, and therefore the size of an end-user base and any upside revenue that might accrue from having a large user base.

Other users have noted that sometimes apps are hard to find when using the Market's own search process. One developer could locate his app when conducting a direct query, but that the app was not visible in search results.

"What disturbs me deeply is that there's really no support system for the Android Market," says Bo Stone of the AndroidGuys. "There's no bug tracking, no support phone or even email or any way to file a problem ticket."

The Android Market does have a help forum, but not many end users or developers are likely to find that a reasonable solution. Developers are customers, and customers have certain expecations about levels of support.

It appears that Android Market does not yet operate as a retail software outlet normally must.

Some developers report that the total number of downloads for their respective applications had in some cases dropped by several thousand, for example. Google will get better at this, but the issues illustrate the growing pains any firm, no matter how accomplished, can experience when moving into a more traditional and direct retail environment.

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Android Guys

Android Market Closes on 50,000 Apps

At this rate, it will not be long before the Android Market features 50,000 or so applications.

That's well behind Apple's total of about 150,000 apps, but Android is catching up pretty fast.