Android Market Hits 10 Billion Downloads, Games Dominate 178
New submitter sandeepabhat tips news that Android Market recently saw its 10 billionth app download, reaching the milestone less than a year after the App Store accomplished the same feat. New downloads through Android Market are proceeding at a rate of roughly 1 billion per month. Google has now created an infographic to break down the information further. Games outpace any other type of app, accounting for more than a quarter of all downloads. The top five countries in downloads-per-capita are South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the U.S., and Singapore.
Paid Vs. Free? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:iPhone vs Android (Score:4, Interesting)
At some point, app count becomes irrelevant.
First, most good apps are on both platforms, right? But more importantly, how many thousand apps can you run on your phone? And specifically, how many thousand barcode readers do you need, for example? Quantity of apps seems quite irrelevant, especially when there is so much redundancy.
From my experience, the distinction between the iPhone and Android is about interface. Maybe it is just because I am more used to the iPhone, but when using an Android, I find the experience to be downright hostile. It is as if I have to fight the interface to get it to do what I want.
With the iPhone, I feel like it is working with me. There is no doubt that sometimes the iPhone tries to be "too smart" and do stuff for me that I'd rather it not do. But on the balance, I find everything about its interface to be smoother, more elegant, and a much more pleasant/productive experience.
Given that both systems have basically the same feature set and basically the same apps, interface and industrial design are the major distinguishing factors.
Price seems like a rather minor factor. At least in the US, price of the phone is nothing compared to the price of the service.
Re:10 Billion would be 100 Billion... (Score:5, Interesting)
Perhaps it would be easier to keep all the phones up to date if the Microsoft Patent Licensing deal didn't involve renegotiation for each new Android version that you want to install on the phone...
Oh hey, guess what? MS charges LESS for a full install of WP7 than their bogus Android license fees. This is the same sort of behavior that got them in anti-competitive trouble LAST TIME. Funny how immediately after their DOJ anti-trust oversight expires, the ramp up the anti-competitive practices.
I hope B & N tears them a new one. [groklaw.net]
Re:Paid Vs. Free? (Score:2, Interesting)
I didn't say all Androids were cheaper. Just that there are many people on a budget, and those people can more easily afford a cheap Android than an iOS device. And when they've done so, they are less likely to be prepared to pay for apps.
Re:iPhone vs Android (Score:4, Interesting)
Why do you need (for instance) a Google Maps app when all you should have to do is surf to Google?
I find most embedded apps to be better than their web counterpart on any smartphone/tablet device.
Re:Paid Vs. Free? (Score:2, Interesting)
You seem to think Android is a platform for cheapscates. The truth is that Android is the platform for people who don't give a fuck. Its target market is the same as MS Windows on the desktop -- those who take whatever is preloaded on the hardware instead of thinking about what they want from their software.
Just in case you weren't alive in the MS-DOS days, this turns out to be the far most dominating factor in the size of the markets, and determines the fate of the industry. It overwhelms all other considerations combined. Technical merit, developer tools, average user attitudes about pricing, freeness of market -- you can blow every single one of those off simultaneously and still be the leader.
Android is currently set up for that major advantage, except with some of those other minor factors also in their favor or at least competitive. Beating Microsoft 20 years ago was a problem of child's play proportions compared to beating Android in the coming decade, but fortunately the stakes are lower and losing won't hurt as bad. Unfortunately that means most people won't try as hard.