Counter to the perception that Android is closing the gap with Apple, a new report shows the iPhone maker’s App Store is miles ahead when it comes to making money for developers.
To start, Apple’s App Store offers almost three times as many paid apps than the Android Marketplace – 211,369 versus 71,801, according to analytics firm Distimo. Of those paid apps, 80 percent of Android apps sold less than 100 copies. Additionally, three times as many paid iOS apps have been downloaded more than 500,000 – in just March and April within the United States. For the Marketplace, only two Android apps have surpassed the 500k market – worldwide to date.
In another startling metric, Apple’s iPhone App Store saw 94 apps in the top 10 list of paid and free iOS submissions. That’s in stark contrast to Android’s 26. What’s Google’s most successful app in the Android Marketplace? The free Google Maps with more than 50 million downloads.
So, what’s the upshot of the Distimo report? Although iOS developers have their gripes about Apple, the ecosystem is paying off big time. The Cupertino, Calif. company has a reputation for hardware quality that is now extending to its apps service. As for the mostly-free Android Marketplace, well, you get what you pay for.
