22 February 2010 ~ 1 Comment

Android Market vs App Store

Mobile

What do you need to have a successful platform? One of the things is good quality applications. That has been true since the early days of Windows and Mac OS. Without Word and Excel, Lotus,  and some other key programs, the Windows platform would not have taken off. Same thing goes for Mac OS in the design industry.

iPhone OS right now boasts over 140,000 apps in the store, and the strict review process makes Apple the gate keeper that only lets good quality apps get in. Android doesn’t come close to that number having about 1/10th of that number of apps. But it’s taking a different approach.

Check out the App store on the iPhone and search for “Google” you’ll find Google Earth and Google Mobile app. Now do the same in the Android Market. You’ll find, Google Goggles, Skymap, Voice, Translate, Gmail, Finance, Talk, Shopper, Earth, etc..

Google does not have a strict review process, so they are making sure there are going to be high quality apps in the market by writing their own.  Aside from games, most useful apps are tied into a back-end service- think Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Weather, Mail, NYtimes, etc.. Google is making apps that tie into one of the best back-ends out there. Their own! So even though Android does not have the number of apps as the iPhone, they have some that pack quite a punch. As more of the big development companies start porting apps to the android, Google’s apps might differentiate the two platforms considerably.

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  • http://mmcwatters.com/blog/ Michael McWatters

    Alternatively, Google could generate additional revenue streams by offering paid apps for the iPhone, while continuing to offer the same apps for free on their own platform. This way, they can entice iPhone users over to Droids by giving them a taste of the Google experience. Of course, Apple could reject Google's apps out of hand, but users might revolt, and Apple would likely be forced to cave.

    If we've learned one thing, it's that closed systems in technology only last so long, and then competition takes over and someone will build a better mousetrap and steal all your mice.