57% of Android Market apps are free, Android Market growing faster

February 25, 2010 | by Chris Smith

According to Distimo, an “app store analytics” provider, 57%of applications from the Android Market are free. This is compared to iPhone’s only 25% and Blackberry’s 24% of free applications in their app stores. Does this mean that the Android Market will eventually push developers away because of the lack of money making opportunities? Not necessarily.

Distimo also found that the Android Market is growing by about 3,005 applications per month as the iPhone App Store is being flooded by a whopping 13,865 apps per month; the other app stores aren’t even really worth mentioning. Distimo notes that Android is relatively growing at a faster pace than any other app store offering.

This could be the information developers need to finally make the switch from the iPhone OS over to Android. When comapanies such as Gameloft, EA, etc. see this type of growth and adoption it may make them rethink the future of Android. Something else that would help developers make this decision would be unifying Android’s OS versions on devices across the board. I can imagine it being hard for a developer to choose which flavor of Android to develop for; the 80% or so that still run 1.6 or the rest of the “high-end” Android users that are on 2.x. With market share growth and OS unity, Android could possibly dethrone the iPhone.

Personally, I think that with the growth of the Android Market, developers will find the way to monetize their free apps by advertising or in-app purchases. I wouldn’t say that knowing the Android Market is mostly filled with free apps will drive away developers. Understanding that the Android Market is more open and growing at a faster rate will bring on developers; they will find the ways to monetize.

Via [Gizmodo] Source [Distimo] Image [Distimo]

Android, android market, apps, developers, development, growth, iPhone

3 Comments

@burnayev says:

February 25, 2010 at 4:25 pm

If you are an indie developer contemplating an Android application the best way to think about Android Market is as if it's not monetizable. The bulk of Android users have a Google-inspired "free software" mindset so your attempt to earn some tangible income from app sales will likely not succeed. The next approach that you'll be tempted to try is to gain some income from ads. It will not succeed either due to such factors as limited install base, paultry ad rates, and platform fragmentation. Currently there is no such a thing as "in-app purchases" in Android so don't even think about it. Android, as of now, is a "reach" platform. It allows you, the developer, to reach audience that would not know or care about your existance otherwise. When coupled with a web-based service or a desktop product, it might create a viable business model. There are other incentives to develop for Android for sure. It looks good on your resume, it's Java, you might become famous. Just don't think you can make money off of it. Borys Burnayev ActionComplete: GTD for Android and Web actioncomplete.com My recent post AC for Web Private Beta Program is Open
Eric Metois says:

February 26, 2010 at 11:44 pm

Android Market's impressive growth might be somewhat deceiving. The absence of any form of review process has led to new forms of store flooding and other variety of spams in the form of applications that are just gateways to websites, or submissions that are more packaged content than they are applications. It didn't take long for new freedoms to lead to new abuses. Take a quick look at the store's "just in" listings and you'll notice that these "fake" applications count for a substantial portion of daily submissions – probably over half these days.
Allison says:

March 1, 2010 at 11:30 pm

I'm so glad that Androids are finally starting to catch up with iPhones! I came across this blog that reviews several Android apps that help to save money…pretty useful. Feel free to check it out http://blog.greensherpa.com/index.php/personal-fi… My recent post By: Jackie

Android Apps and News

Thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and Unpacked 2013

Diztronic case review for LG Nexus 4

Why I decided to purchase the Nexus 4

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - Verizon Remix Version

HTC DROID DNA Review

Samsung Galaxy Note II Review

Android News