Google Inc.’s Android Market still has merely a sliver of the Apple App Store when it comes to the number of applications available: a mere 800 versus Apple’s 15,000. But T-Mobile is making the Android-based G1 available at retail to more customers in more markets beginning Saturday, a move that might encourage more developers to join the Market.
The first device based on Google’s Android mobile OS, the T-Mobile G1 was launched in October, initially available in 3G markets and online.
But can the Android Market take a bite out of Apple? Apple, of course, has the first market advantage, launching last summer. But it also enjoys integration with the well-known and often-used iTunes store, making for a relatively shallow learning curve for anyone downloading apps from there.
The other factor is a sheer numbers game; for a developer to be enticed to write for a platform, the number of available devices the resulting software can run on becomes an important factor. Apple has sold more than 15 million iPhones, plus applications can run on the iPod Touch. That’s compared with about 1 million G1s sold.
With T-Mobile’s retail expansion for the G1 in the United States, the imminent launch of the G1 in Germany, and other planned Android devices in the pike, Google hopes to add significantly to the Android Market.