Android
Android Market now has 30,000 to 35,000 apps
March 16, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Google Android
How many apps are in the Android Market? That’s not easy to pin down. Third-party market tracker AndroLib says that the number is 35,000, but a Google employee told Mobile Crunch that the official count maintained by Google is 30,000.
A similar discrepancy occurred in December when AndroLib reported that the number of Android apps doubled in three months. When AndroLib reported that the number of apps reached 20,000, Google responded that the number was closer to 16,000. This could be the result of inaccuracy counts pulled from Market data.
I’d wager that the differences in counts center on what each defines as an app. While AndroLib may track every Android Market listing, perhaps Google doesn’t include themes, skins, or comics. Maybe Google doesn’t draw a distinction between the many “Lite” and “Pro” versions that are essentially the same apps with different features or lack of advertisements.
Whatever the case, the Android Market is growing at a healthy pace. The number of apps went from 10,000 in September to at least 30,000 in March. The number of apps has tripled thanks to the Android Developers Challenge and headline-grabbing phones like the Motorola Droid. With a few more hot devices coming next week at CTIA, it wouldn’t surprise me if Android crosses the 50,000 mark in June.
About 39% of apps listed in the Market are paid apps, according to AndroLib.
To have a fair comparison, it has be counted the same way Apple counts its apps. I am not sure if they count pro/lite applications as one but something tells me that they are counted separate. Also I wish there was a way to count the quality apps (nothing that farts basically
).