10 Billion Android Application Downloaded Means Nothing
Source: Ewan Spence,
Android has seen over 10 billion applications downloaded from their store. It’s such a meaningless number that all it’ good for is pushing a message of “we’ve won” from Google when the smartphone world is still in a vicious three way knife fight and we have little idea who is going to be the eventual winner.
With 200 million activations out there, we need more numbers to extrapolate the real state of applications. We’re told time and time again that Android users are vociferous downloaders of third party apps; but the simplest read of those two numbers is that the average Android user has tried fifty applications (update: not five!). Does that 10 billion count include subsequent downloads and re-installation of apps? How about version updates? And should the download of a trial version, followed by a purchase, count as one download or two?
On the other side of the equation, how many of those activations are unique Google accounts? Someone with fie activations could account for 250 downloads… but does that imply 250 different applications, 25 applications with ten updates over two years. There is a lot of detail not on show here.
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There’s little doubt that Android has significant market share. With various studies pointing to reach over 52% in a handful of territories Google’s mobile operating system is the gorilla in the room. I bet I could find just as impressive stats for the other major mobile platforms that put them in the best light for their mission goals. Let’s try…
Apple of course have passed 250 million activations in October, and announced 15 billion downloads in July. Microsoft can point to their 40,000 apps in their Marketplace and how they reached than number in a faster time period than either Apple of Google �C besides a developer on Windows Phone can earn five times as much as their iOS app.
Put aside the marketing spin that churns out like clockwork; the special offers to get an even bigger number in the next news cycle (apps discounted to ten cents, which I suspect is even less than the handling charge on the payment); ignore all the puff pieces that are trying to tempt you to a specific platform so the OS owners can sell your eyeballs to advertisers or lock you in to their hardware family or software ecosystem.
It’s all smoke and mirrors �C here’s the only thing that counts. Does the phone that you have work for you? Does it do what you need it to do, not what someone online says it should do? Congratulation, you’ve found your brand. Now ignore the crowds, and get on with your life.
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