Google’s Android Marketplace, a rival to Apple’s iPhone App Store, reached the 50,000 mark over the weekend, according to one company tracking cell phone application sites. Although a far cry from Apple’s nearly 200,000 apps, Android may be on pace to hit the 100,000 milestone by September, according to reports.
About a month ago, the Android Market, the nearest competitor to the App Store, reached the 40,000 mark. The 50,000 figure comes from AndroLib, which tracks 10 smartphone marketplaces.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently slammed the Android Marketplace, in an email. “You know, there’s a porn store for Android,” the Apple leader reportedly told a customer. “That’s a place we don’t want to go — so we’re not going there,” he added. Although Apple has begun removing apps it finds objectionable, an Android website, Android Police, shot back: “The Apple Store can’t say it is doing a much better job of controlling ‘spam apps.’
The back-and-forth between Google and Apple appeared again earlier this year. The Cupertino, Calif. company required a developer to remove mention of the Android Marketplace from its app’s description to gain approval for App Store sales.
[via Fortune]