Research recently found that Apple’s App Store was home to no fewer than 500,000 applications. However, the same research also suggests that Google’s Android Market is likely to pass this huge milestone, even as early as this coming July.
Well, not quite. I believe analysts are predicting the number of downloads will pass Apple’s, not the number available.
The problem with bandying statistics like these is that they don’t generally tell the whole story. For instance, did you know that 37% of the available applications on Apple App Store are free to download, with Angry Birds being the most popular?
Furthermore, Apple isn’t about to sit back on its laurels. Google’s Android may be the most popular operating system around at the moment, but the number of Google Apps available is relatively small. So in terms of actual numbers available it is likely to be sometime before the Android Market passes Apple’s App Store in the popularity stakes.
Meanwhile, Android may be onto a winner with something else. It seems one small software company is developing Android applications for use on a PC.
BlueStacks recently received financial backing to the tune of $7.6 million to help it develop applications that synchronise between Android smartphones and a desktop computer. The company says this will apply to both work and personal data.
A spokesperson for the company told informationweek.com “[Software developments will give] PC manufacturers the chance to take advantage of the growing consumer demand for Android-based mobile enterprise applications.”
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