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Apr. 9, 2010

Google's Android mobile operating system is seeing a real apps increase, according to recent numbers, with many observers saying that Google is a growing threat to Apple in both the mobile handset as well as tablet PC markets.

And according to AndroidLib.com, Google's Android Marketplace saw a record number of 9,331 new mobile apps added last month alone, up from the 5,532 apps added in February and the 4,458 added in January of 2010.

This brings the current number of Android apps to about 27,246, which while still a long way off from Apple's 160,000 + apps, is a perfectly respectable and fast-growing number just as well, which could give the fruit-themed gadget-maker a good run for its money in the relatively near future.

The Android Marketplace was only launched in October 2008, with just 167 available apps at that time, so no one can fault Google for its impressive drive and momentum.

Tablet PCs are just the beginning, and while Apple is predicting to gain a significant share of the new tablet market with its much-hyped iPad, with millions of units projected to ship in 2010, Apple isn't the only firm churning out tablet offerings this year.

The apps are essential content for the plethora of new Android device types Google is hoping will flood the market over the next couple of years - and as most manufacturers and network providers are discovering, content is king.

Google certainly doesn't plan to miss out on the tablet-fest, with many small laptop manufacturers noting their offerings will be based on the firm's Android operating system.

IMS Research even predicts the number of tablets based on Android to ship this year could even account for as much as almost 25 percent of the total, a significant slice of the ultra-mobile computing pie.

Of course, there is still the question of paid vs. free mobile applications and the relative costs to consumers over time.

IMS researcher and principal analyst Anna Hunt notes that “the user interface and content that a tablet supplier brings to the table will likely influence purchase decisions just as much as hardware requirements.”

“Wireless hardware manufacturers are realizing the importance of content and service and many are turning to the Android ecosystem to be able to offer the complete user experience and compete with Apple's offering,” added Hunt.

“Right now many of the applications specifically designed for the iPad platform, which are starting to hit the iTunes App Store, are actually more expensive than apps for the iPhone OS platform,” says Hunt.

“This leaves a pretty good opportunity for suppliers that can offer a tablet solution that is overall more price competitive, both for the hardware as well as the content.”

In February, it was reported that there are now more and more Android MIDs (mobile Internet devices) on the market today, and Smaato's ad metrics for last month show a pretty good improvement of Android device click-through-rates (CTR) compared to December.

But overall, Symbian wireless handsets remained at the top of the worldwide list nevertheless, said Smaato.

The metric firm says that the average fill rate of mobile ad networks in the U.S. was about 46.9 percent last month, down from about 55.2 percent in December.

Similar to December 2009, it still remains significantly higher than the global average fill rate of just 29 percent.

Smaato added that the boost in Android click-through-rates comes with a large uptake in Android ad requests in the Smaato network and newly introduced Android phones by Google (Nexus One), Motorola (the Droid) and various other mobile handsets branded by other wireless carriers.

In January, AdMob noted that the iPhone and iPod touch have fueled much of AdMob's growth as a mobile ad network over the past two years.

In December of last year, about 36 percent of AdMob ad requests came from the iPhone and iPod touch, with the majority of them coming from mobile apps.

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Source: Google.