Android has been called the fastest growing mobile platform ever in the history of the world, and now we have some numbers that pretty much back that up. The last 12 months have been quite an amazing ride for the Google operating system.
There are now more than 250,000 apps available on the Android Market and people are counting the number of Android devices in the millions these days. No one could have foreseen this when Google first came forward way back in 2008 (actually, that wasn’t too long ago, was it?)
So here’s the staggering number. Are you sitting down?
In 2009, Google’s Android Market recorded $11 million in revenue. In 2010, it pulled in $102 million. If your jaw isn’t dropping, you might wanna have a doctor check it out.
Now, of course it’s easy to have huge percentage growth when you start with such a small number. And app sales grew across the board, with huge numbers, even on mobile platforms that aren’t growing nearly as fast.
Nevertheless, that’s a tremendous amount of growth. Of course, then you have to throw in some reality, which is that Apple’s App Store still dominated in the world of mobile apps. Apple’s platform takes a massive 82.7% share of all mobile app store sales. That means it raked in $1.78 billion in 2010. Android, to recall, saw $102 million. That’s a 4.7% share, meager by comparison.
Let’s put that into context too, though. In 2009, the App Store had a 92.8% market share. It has dropped more than 10 percentage points, thanks largely to Android, but also thanks to Nokia’s Ovi Store and Blackberry’s App World. Yes, even though Nokia and Blackberry are just sloughing off market share when it comes to handset sales, those who already have a Blackberry or Nokia phone are spending more on apps.
