100,000 Apps for the App Store?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Various blogs has reported that the App Store has reached the 100,000 apps milestone. However, it is the number of “approved apps” that has reached 100,000. The number of apps currently available for download in the App Store currently stands at around 93,000.

Why is there a discrepancy between approved apps and available apps? One reason for this discrepancy is that some apps have been pulled by Apple due to copyright issues. For example, popular marble game “StoneLoops! of Jurassica” has been removed by Apple because MumboJumbo, makers of the Luxor marble game franchise, filed a complaint to Apple that Stoneloops violated their copyright by stealing their looks and source codes.

With nearly 100,000 apps, there are going to be apps that look and do the same as other apps. That is just how any economy works. There will be competition. The app developer and publisher will need to distinguish their app from other similar apps. Of course, violation of copyright and trademark issues is a valid reason to be pulled from the App Store. Developers need to respect the intellectual rights of others before submitting their app to Apple.

Another reason for the discrepancy between approved apps and available apps is inadequate content issues. Some apps such as Baby Shaker should not have been approved in the first place. Other apps may have been pulled because they have security issues or allow users access to functions unapproved by Apple not found at the time of the app review process.

Despite the 7,000 app discrepancy between approved apps and available apps, the App Store is undoubtedly way ahead of its competitors. Nokia’s Ovi Store has 660 applications. Palm’s App Catalog holds just under 100 apps, although there are 280 more “homebrew” unofficial apps available to download for the Palm Pre. In BlackBerry App World, there are 3040 apps. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Marketplaces holds 246 apps.

The iPhone mosaic above is made from a collection of 10 thousand apps just about a year ago. It was created to celebrate 10k apps in the app store. Soon, we may see this mosaic in another form. Just 90,000 apps bigger!