50,000 Android Apps - Just in time for the Droid Incredible

My Verizon Droid Incredible will be here on the 29th. I'm having it delivered to my office because 1) FedEx can never find my house and I'm not taking any chances and 2) like I could wait until 4:15 to break out my new toy. I mean, come on. My BlackBerry is on its last legs and it's time to upgrade from a mere messaging phone to a serious handheld computing device (that just happens to get and receive phone calls). Increasingly, the Apple-Google war is coming down to iPhone OS vs. Android and a major differentiator of these two operating systems from the rest of the smartphone pack is the availability of thousands of applications to extend the functionality of these phones.

Android just broke 50,000 apps in their Marketplace, according to Fortune and many other outlets. While this seems small potatoes to Apple's 200,000 apps, it's pretty likely that I'll be able to get my Incredible to do just about anything I want. The same can probably be said of an iPhone, unless what I want involves Flash or something that Steve Jobs thinks is too naughty, but I'm a Google sort of guy and I'd need to stand on my roof in a strong breeze to get AT&T reception where I live, so I'm breaking out the Android Apps.

It looks like my choice in Apps may soon rival Apple's as well. In 2010 alone, Android Apps have doubled, Android phones are exploding (providing incentive for developers), and Google's Tim Bray cited the "low barrier to entry" for developers in a recent interview. Honestly, I'll just be happy to move on from the awful BlackBerry Facebook application.

If you, like me, have been waiting for just the right phone on just the right network to jump on Android, have a look at Androlib.com. You can easily search for the application you need and find reviews, videos, and screen shots. Or do what I'm going to do on Thursday: get the phone at work, lock your office door, and start downloading apps. I'll probably have to get back to work before I hit 50,000.