Google Pleased With Android Market, Ice Cream Sandwich Progress

In the two-and-a-half years since it launched, the Android Market has already caught up with the Apple App Store in terms of the number of titles available for download.  Google is hoping that its latest OS update, Android 4.0, will manage to do the same, despite currently struggling to find favour.

The battle over the numbers is, however, slightly less cut-throat than the one fought in the courtroom over patents.  With 400 000 apps and counting, Google is getting close to matching the number of apps available to Apple iOS users according to Distimo.

Google has managed to gain ground in less than a year, shooting up from 200 000 apps 31 months after to launch to 300 000 in month 35 and now 400 000, 37 months after going live on October 28, 2008.  The Apple App Store took 39 months to reach the same milestone.

Source : Distimo

The number of free apps has also risen over time; in April of last year, they represented 60% of all Android apps, but now occupy 60% of the market.

Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) not taking off just yet

Google has also provided figures about the fate of the various versions of its Android OS.  It's clear that Android 2.3, Gingerbread, is still the most widely-used, running on over 55% of handsets.  It is, however, set to fall in popularity over time as Android 4.0 begins to take off.

Google's latest update, which launched on October 19 last year, is only found on 0.6% of Android devices for the time being.  This puny market share is partly due to hardware manufacturers delaying its installation on their mobiles: for the time being, very few smartphones can actually run Android 4.0.

Version 2.2, Froyo, is hanging in there with 30.4% of users, mostly down to the fact it's favoured on entry-level smartphones.  More nostalgically, older versions are also still in use, including Cupcake (0.6%), 1.6 Donut (1.1%), 2.1 Eclair (8.5%). 

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