Googling Google

Christopher Dawson

100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

By Christopher Dawson | October 25, 2010, 9:20pm PDT

Summary: The apps numbers game isn’t much of a differentiating factor for iOS and Android. What we really need is to advance the state of the mobile browser (which is pretty darned advanced already).

Google News (not surprisingly) was all abuzz Monday (really, no pun intended) over Android’s 100,000th app. Great. On one hand, this is good news about my mobile platform of choice. Android, in my opinion, is an incredibly viable competitor to iOS and often competes well with desktop operating systems for the eyes and hands of many users. On the other hand, who cares? Apps are all well and good, but I spend far more time in my mobile browser than I do using whatever clever little apps I happen to download.

I came across on app tonight as I was downloading Adobe Air for Android (OK, so there’s a few apps that excite me, but that’s not the point). It was called “I <3 AIR” and the description read:

An Android love letter to Adobe

This is just a test to see how easy it is to get an app to Market :(

While many would see this as a failing of the Android Market to be more stringent in its approval process, it echoes sentiments in Androinica:

Of course, a 100,000 app Android Market is 999,950 apps more than you’ll probably need. There’s plenty of crap in the market – as there are in every OS app store or any place where products are sold – that people will never care to download…

How many do you use? Angry Birds? Solitaire? A web browser? An email client? The Kindle app? My son happens to be an App fiend, downloading as many as his iPod Touch will hold. I would argue that the browser is the only one that really matters. This is where countless ads are surfaced, this is where we look up everything we need to know, where we answer questions, and read news. Modern mobile browsers, in fact, make very few compromises over their desktop brethren and it’s in our browsers that we spend most of our desktop time.

Can you really tell me that those 300,000 apps in the Apple store are high-quality apps that millions of people use every day? Nope. There’s just Angry Birds.

I’m being facetious, of course, but apps (even Angry Birds) come and go. They rise and fall in popularity and new apps take their place as the fad of the day, whether you’re using an Android or an iOS device (or even a RIM or WP7 device, I suppose). The Web browser, though? How often do you pull out that smartphone and hit the Web? I’ll bet it’s a lot. Maybe not as much as you open your Gmail app or another mail or messaging client, but it’s probably more than just about any other app.

100,000 Apps to download in the Market
100,000 Apps to download
Download one, use it awhile and then forget about it
99,999 Apps to download.

You can have 95% of my apps. Just give me Skyfire, Google Maps, and an e-book reader or two and I probably won’t notice.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “Googling Google”

Where's AdMob for Windows Phone 7?

Google invests $5 million in grassroots journalism

Topics

Google Inc., Google News, Android App, Christopher Dawson

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

Full Bio
Disclosure
Contact

Disclosure

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.). He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change. He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have). Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others. Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair. Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards. Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap. Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff. Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable. Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.

Vendor HotSpot

The 360° Conversation around Cloud Computing

TECH VISUALIZER brings the social conversation to life... powered by Brocade

Learn More »

Comments

Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Follow via:: RSS; Email Alert

Just In

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

FAULKNE 13th Oct

Good day to confirm this comment I would appreciate T h e b e s t o f Z D N e t d e l i v e r e d your website very nice to everyone Yes, Oracle is the only one with shared-disk architecture, but that is there advantage. It means you can add or remove nodes and the database lives on. In a shared nothing architecture, if you lose a node, you lose the system. I'm sure Oracle appreciates EMC highlighting their advantage.I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate Awesome post! Thank you very much || thanks for nice content this is really benefit to me.

View in thread

Please Select
Please Select

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

honest1122 25th Oct 2010

Are you nuts ? Applications matters a lot and many times I ignore browser with the application which can make my task simpler.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

rikasa Updated - 26th Oct 2010

While I still view both the limited on-board storage capacity of my HTC Desire and lack of app2sd-equipped apps as lowlights of my Android experience to date, in a funny way it's been a blessing in disguise. It has forced me to trim down installed apps almost exactly to the point where no needs are compromised, yet I can avoid that infernal notification bar space pig that is the 'disk space is getting low' message. That is; it has got me into the good habit of carefully reviewing each app before downloading and in conclusion; games aside, I feel a browser plus a few highly functional apps covers most needs.

Eventually most apps will boast app2sd functionality allowing me 'carte blanche' download freedom, but there is also freedom in a limited, yet functionally rich app repertoire. For a start, I have far smaller administrative burden, which is often unfairly cited as an Android weakness. I am at the point now where most new app downloads are just improved replacements for current apps.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

No, it doesn't

timiteh 26th Oct 2010

Because among those 100 000 apps only a few are really useful and/or appealing.
Moreover, besides perhaps games,browsers and multimedia players, i am not that interested by apps on a smartphone. I think that my ultra portable (and never ever talk me of those POS called tablets) is far more interesting to deal with apps.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

Peter38 Updated - 3rd Sep

@timiteh Android Market has reached the 100,000 apps milestone, confirmed by Google's official AndroidDev Twitter account. The milestone has been predicted for weeks based on unofficial counts by third-party sites.
Android Market has been order cipro online , order amoxil online , order lasix online , buy keflex online , buy diflucan 150mg , buy clomid online , buy lipitor usa , buy synthroid online , brand cialis cheap order , order brand name viagra , buy neurontin online growing fast in recent months, as more developers and brands have targeted the platform, rather than just focusing on iOS.

Reply
Flagged

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

AdonisSMU 26th Oct 2010

I just don't care.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Of Course It Does

DirtyLeo 26th Oct 2010

If nothing it shows a healthy ecosystem that wasn't there not-so-long ago. A lot of development companies were waiting for the critical mass to invest in Android apps and I believe a six-digit figure proves that this mark has been reached. So, it is all good news for users because if you need something then there's probably an Android app for that.

Last but not least, if you lack imagination and use only your browser then it's not our fault, is it? happy

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

you're right,

soulquarian 26th Oct 2010

it doesn't matter. Most of the apps on all mobile OS's are redundant and simply novelties. I guess, like the author, all I need is a few, important apps: Dolphin HD browser, PdaNet, Advanced Task Killer, Google Maps, Kindle, Pandora, Player Pro and the Weather Channel. Everything else just fills up space on my Droid X.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

Lochias 26th Oct 2010

Does it matter for whom? Most of the comments on this topic are about apps that everybody wants. That means the top fifty or so, right?

But must people have particular interests, things that make life interesting, fulfilling, worthwhile, etc., or that might get them a job. If you are a medical student, the most important app this week might be a trainer for memorizing the carpal bones. If you play chess, maybe you want an openings database, an analytic engine, and a client for the ICC.

The need for numbers in an app store comes from diversity, not fifty-one apps all doing the same thing.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

dave95. Updated - 26th Oct 2010

What really matters are the quality of the apps, not the quantity, obviously. If I am looking for a certain travel app while on the road for instance, and all I'm getting back are "junk" results from Android's market, then I would be discourage to look any further. Apple have the right idea in not allowing the level of junk you find in Android's market. You will find junk but not on Android's level (including piracy apps, trademark infringement apps, ringtones, wallpaper apps, these are all included in the app count).

btw, why is Google not building a web based Android App Store? It would be much easier to find (search) and manage apps than having to do it all from your 4" phone screen.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

james347 27th Oct 2010

Yes.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

MACKENZI 11th Sep

I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate! nccma cooler

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

MARAGARET 12th Sep

I used to be more than happy to seek out this internet-site.I wanted to thanks in your time for this glorious read!! I positively enjoying each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you weblog post. this thread is amazing i like your work and i appreciate you that you have share a useful stuff thanks for sharing the i shop abatwa

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

RHIANNONA 13th Sep

I used to be more than happy to seek out this internet-site.I wanted to thanks in your time for this glorious read!! I positively enjoying each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you weblog post.Bookmarking now thanks please consider a follow up post. power sa shop

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

SATURNINA 14th Sep

I think the representation of this article is actually superb one. This is my first visit to your site. Thanks a lot and keep sharing the information. Keep updating the information for all of us. Thanks ZDNet Government was launched as the brand's first industry vertical, with a mission to cater to IT professionals in the public secto I agree with your post. However, do you have any sources I can cite for my paper wheel car com bury

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

TOCCAR 25th Sep

Well welcome, hopefully you can become a vital member of the community and really help to push far ahead of google. Which Im sure the development team would love. This will of course earn you alot points too and get you on the leaders board. z d n e t t h a n k Im not sure i come to an agreement with you on every level, howevor it absolutely was a good posting, many thanks for taking the time to put up your ideas.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

MCKNIGH 26th Sep

Thanks nice info z d n e t I really liked your current article write more..let me add you to its favorite The articles you have on zdnet s i t e are always so enjoyable to read. Good work and I bookmarked it.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: 100,000 Android Apps: Does it matter?

RICHMONFT 30th Sep

Fantastic news about the new release.I positively enjoying each little bit of it and I have you b o o k m a r k e d to check out new stuff you weblog post.Im not sure i come to an agreement with you on every level, howevor it absolutely was a good posting, many thanks for taking the time to put up your ideas