App Store beats Android Market in new submissions three to one now due to fragmentation

Using its own tools, the company which specializes in mobile software analysis and data, found out that this is a worse ratio for Android, which usually masters two to one submissions. The number of iOS apps has now increased to more than 550 000, and, while Android has climbed to north of 400, 000 apps, the gap with the App Store is widening due to the accelerated submissions there.

The developers interviewed said that it simply takes 30% more time to write a game, for example, and tailor it for all the Android versions and graphics processors out there, not to mention that iTunes has hundreds of millions of credit card accounts on file, making app payments a snap. GameHouse, which made popular titles like "Doodle Jump" and "NCIS: The Game", said that its iOS apps earn three to four times more, compared to the Android versions.

The popular Kayak travel search engine, for another instance, had to spare two engineers for month and a half to simply tailor its app for the Kindle Fire, since it is not a "with Google" device, and they had to use Bing, instead of Google Maps.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich is the horse Google is betting on to remedy the issues with fragmentation and easier app monetization is in store for Android Market, but until then the application gap seems to be widening in favor of the App Store.

source: Bloomberg