Android Market is developed by Google for Android OS devices and is an online software tool. It is an application program ("app") called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices allowing users to browse and download apps published by developers. Android Market cuts out all the tedious searching on the Internet for the application we are looking for. On Android Market you just have to select a category that you are interested in and start going through the pages for the application you are looking for.
Google announced Android Market on 28 August 2008, and made it available to the users on 22 October 2008. They invited support for paid applications on 13 February 2009 for US and UK developers and also additional support for 29 countries on 30 September 2010.
In March 2009, about 2,300 applications were available on the Android Market. On 10 May 2011 Google announced that Android Market had 200,000 apps, and had clocked 4.5 billion apps installations.
Date | Applications | Downloads to date |
March 2009 | 2,300 | |
December 2009 | 20,000 | |
August 2010 | 80,000 | 1 billion |
May 2011 | 200,000 | 3 billion |
July 2011 | 250,000 | 4.5 billion |
Comparisons to competitors
Till July 2010 Android Market featured 57% of free apps – the highest percentage of any major app store as compared to 22% for Windows Marketplace and more than half of its apps are priced at $2 or below compared with a minimum app price of $2.99 as on BlackBerry App World.
App Store | Percent Free Applications |
Android Marketplace | 58% |
Apple App Store | 28% |
BlackBerry App World | 26% |
Nokia Ovi Store | 26% |
Windows Marketplace | 22% |
Top 10 Free Apps
- Google maps
- Talking Tom Cat 2
- Facebook For Android
- Racing Moto
- Koi Free Live wallpaper
- You Tube
- SlideIt Soft Keyboard
- Drag Racing
- Angry birds
- Skype
Application Security
Android OS compatible devices can run applications written by third-party developers and distributed through Android Market.
Possible app permissions include functionality like:
- Accessing the Internet
- Making phone calls
- Sending SMS messages
- Reading and writing to the installed memory card
- Accessing a user's address book data
Many Security software companies have developed applications to ensure the safety and security of Android devices. SMobile Systems, one such manufacturer, claims that 20% of apps in Android Market request permissions which could be used for malicious purposes, and 5% of apps can make phone calls without the user's intervention.
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