Android app store will beat Apple's by August 2011

According to latest reports, the Android app store will overtake the Apple app store by August 2011, provided the current growth rate is maintained. In April 2011, the Android market place added 28,000 apps to its app store as opposed to Apple's 11,000 apps.

There's no doubt that Google's Android OS is the new popular kid on the block and is the only one giving the iOS a run for its money. Not only has it brought to notice the potential of mobile OS, but has also helped elevate some great mobile handsets made HTC, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson from their struggle against the iPhone.

The report has been released by Research2guidance, a research and consultancy firm on everything mobile. The firm stated that at the end of April 2011 the Android Market featured 2,95,000 apps. Sixty-four per cent of these apps are free, which is above-average for a major app store.

The research firm also says that the "free" culture of the Android Market has been one of the main characteristics of the Android ecosystem since its launch. Over the last few months there has been a tendency for publishers to try to shift the balance by submitting more paid apps. In April, the share of free apps submitted to the store slightly decreased to 60%.

It must be noted that the success of one app store over the other doesn't directly correlate with the success of the apps. It is generally observed that the top selling apps remain on the top and the plethora of apps added daily lag behind at the tail end.