57% of Android apps are free -- iPhone apps: only 27%

[UrbanMuppet]

No longer a contributing member. Account pending for deletion.

 

[caustic]

Part of me wants to say that's no so special. Anyone can make an app practically and put it on the store. There are some fairly useless or very poorly coded apps out there, some of which wouldn't pass Apple screening. That's not all of it of course, Google attracts the right mindset too, with advertising on free apps

 

[penano]

I am agree with you caustic...I think there are a lot of poor applications, and sometimes I find hard to get an application for my needs...I love android..but have to say that apple store is better right now...what do you think??

 

[A.Nonymous]

I don't think the number of free apps really matters. If an app is crappy does it really matter if it's free? I want good quality apps, not free apps. I'm willing to pay for a good quality app.

 

[ChiTownJim]

Not only are there lots of GREAT Free apps the developers can still make some cash with ADS on the free version . Plus the paid apps are still much cheaper then BB, Win and Apple it seems .

Most apps are under $5 and a lot of great apps I had weree .99 or 1.99. It's a very inexpensive way to go , one big reason I love Android and can't wait for the Aviliv Tablet to come out which blows away the Ipad

 

[Alieno]

The statistic from the OP is misleading.

Iphone has approximately 225,000 total apps of which 27% are free, or about 60,000 free Apple apps.

Droid has approximately 68,000 total apps of which 57% are free, or about 38,000 free droid apps.

There are nearly 2 free Iphone apps for every 1 free droid App.

If you're looking for free apps, Iphone has far far more.

 

[sic0048]

What it shows is that the professional developers have not adopted the Android platform as much as the Apple platform. Now this is totally expected IMHO given the fact that Apple has had several years longer to attract developers.

There is no question that as more Android phones are released, and the OS becomes more popular, we will see a big increase in both the number of applications available in the Android store as well as the number of paid apps available.

The Apple store is certainly more mature than the Android store. So it isn't unrealistic that the Android store will start to see much higher growth numbers as more and more developers come on board and start duplicating may of the apps already available with Apple.

 

[trick202]

What it shows is that the professional developers have not adopted the Android platform as much as the Apple platform. Now this is totally expected IMHO given the fact that Apple has had several years longer to attract developers.

There is no question that as more Android phones are released, and the OS becomes more popular, we will see a big increase in both the number of applications available in the Android store as well as the number of paid apps available.

The Apple store is certainly more mature than the Android store. So it isn't unrealistic that the Android store will start to see much higher growth numbers as more and more developers come on board and start duplicating may of the apps already available with Apple.

I've not really seen all that much improvement in the quality of apps in the market since I bought my Hero around this time last year. The "top ten" has remained largely unchanged - despite the hardware coming on in leaps and bounds.
I think the argument of the relative ages of the platforms is a bit tired now. Android would have/should have caught up by now if there was a decent incentive for developers to produce good quality apps for Android.
While the diversity of the handsets is brilliant in some respects, it can also make producing apps that work across all handsets problematic.

 

[darreno1]

I've not really seen all that much improvement in the quality of apps in the market since I bought my Hero around this time last year. The "top ten" has remained largely unchanged - despite the hardware coming on in leaps and bounds.
I think the argument of the relative ages of the platforms is a bit tired now. Android would have/should have caught up by now if there was a decent incentive for developers to produce good quality apps for Android.
While the diversity of the handsets is brilliant in some respects, it can also make producing apps that work across all handsets problematic.

Quality is relative and there's no possible way you could know how many quality apps there are in the Android market to make a blanket judgement. The top ten is all based on opinion. I'm sure my 'top ten' and yours will be totally different. All you'll know are the ones that interest you and judge from that. IMO, I've found every app I had on my 3g or an equivalent and they've all been great. The paid apps I use such as Touchdown, xscope, tv listings, Pro Zoom Camera 5x, titanium backup etc or all great quality apps that work very well. I have quite a few free ones such as AirReg, barcode scanner, Mixzing media player that I wouldn't have a problem paying for.

My own experience with the Apple store hasn't been a bed of roses. There were some great free apps but the majority were crap imo. True they have some wonderful paid ones but so does Android. The only area where Apple has a leg up is with the games but that won't be for long.

 

[ari-free]

People want the 'safety' of lots of free apps before they can take the plunge into the 'real' stuff. It's the same for the PC.