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/

Windows Phone 7 Seems to be a Top App Developer Platform

Among publishers and developers, iPhone, Android, iPad, RIM and Windows Mobile were the
top five mobile application platforms of choice in 2010, according to Millennial Media. The Android, iPad, Windows Mobile, and Symbian platforms saw the most growth from 2009. The iPhone and RIM platforms saw year-over-year decreases.

Windows Phone 7 is tied for second place with iPad as the platform that will be added to most publishers’ and developers’ plates in the coming year. At 29 percent interest, Android is challenging the Apple iPhone as the top development platform.

Of those advertisers and marketers developing applications, the entertainment vertical is the most-active sponsor of new mobile apps, followed by technology, media, retail and consumer packaged good verticals.

Only 6.7 percent of developers use an internal sales force, as you might guess. Instead, developers sell using app networks, and rely on advertising networks to generate revenue.

The results were generated by surveys of  600 digital and mobile industry professionals in November
2009 and August 2010. In 2010, 41 percent of survey respondents classified themselves as an agency advertiser or marketer, 30 percent as an application developer, and 29 percent as a publisher.

read more here