Android App Revenue: Barely There

You might think, looking at the number of Android phones out there (10 million new ones per month) , that Android app sales would be significant. You would be wrong... Check out the chart above, from UK research firm IHS, as reported by TechCrunch. Sure, Android app sales have grown 861% since 2009... which sounds like a lot until you realize it's because they started so small. The iOS App market topped $1.7 billion in 2010; the Android app market barely cracked $100 million. That means iPhone apps made 17 times what Android apps did in 2010... no wonder app developers are still developing first for iOS. Even if they may be annoyed by Apple's policies, it's where the money is.

Interesting to note is that Blackberry's app store made more than Android, as did Nokia's store. App development proceeds apace for Android, but Android phone users aren't buying all that many apps, it seems. Of course, the situation will probably change as in-app payments are put in place for Android. Still, app developers need to be conservative about how much they could make from Android versions of their apps. Hardware sales alone don't tell the whole story; the demographics of the buyers, and the details of the market itself, are obviously important.