Apple vs. Android: Which OS Outpaces the Other?

 

Apple has just reached its 10,000th native iPad application, doubling the size of the iPad App Store in just over six weeks. The milestone itself comes just two months after the release of the tablet device, though it's but a fraction of the total number of applications available for both Apple's iPad and iPhone: more than 200,000, as of Memorial Day last month.

As well, the company has started accepting contributions for iOS 4-compatible applications—the next iteration of the iPhone and iPad operating system is currently scheduled for a June 21 release, hitting devices but three days before the launch of Apple's newest product, the iPhone 4.

However, this call to arms comes with a catch: According to TechCrunch, developers of non-iOS-4 applications are allegedly experiencing longer approval times to get their products into Apple's App Store to begin with.

Elsewhere, Google's Android market has surged up to approximately 72,000 total applications, according to figures by AndroLib.com. There's been a steady increase of new applications as far back as the site records information, with 1,669 new apps hitting in July of 2009 compared to the 14,294 new applications arriving in May 2010.

According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, speaking at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple receives more than 15,000 new application submissions each week. If accurate, Apple is generating roughly four times the amount of applications on a monthly basis over the competing Android platform.

Apple and the various Android manufacturers are shipping roughly the same amount of handheld devices, even though the sheer number of different Android-based phones on today's market trumps Apple's available iPhone offerings. According to Google's latest numbers from it's i/o conference, the company is activating approximately 100,000 new Android-based phones per day, or 9 million devices per quarter. Apple, by contrast, shipped 8.75 million iPhones last quarter.

NPD data released in early may indicated that Android has taken second-place spot behind RIM's OS in terms of smartphone operating systems used. Apple allegedly trails seven percent behind Android at 21 percent, though Jobs disagreed with the assessment in his WWDC keynote.

"There have been a lot of stats floating around, market research, studies. Some are okay, some are questionable," said Jobs, before showcasing a new report from The Neilson Company suggesting that the iPhone is actually second-place in the U.S. smartphone market.

Apple vs. Android: Which OS Outpaces the Other? | News & Opinion | PCMag.com