Not the only fruit....

Less than two years after Google opened its Android Market application store, consumers have now apparently downloaded more than one billion apps to their phones (according to estimates from analytics provider AndroLib.com).

Although Android store is still far behind Apple's rival App Store, which recently topped 5 billion downloads, interest in Android is clearly on the up.The report boasts about 92,000 applications, showing rapid growth, and is on pace to hit 100,000  by the end of the month. Developers have already submitted over 10,000 new applications through the first 15 days of July, compared to 15,000 new Android apps in all of June. An increase in volume, but perhaps not quality.

Last week, Google introduced App Inventor for Android, a free software tool enabling users to create their own Android applications regardless of previous programming experience - I have signed up and expect to see my efforts in future weeks. Under development for a year and tested in environments including a variety of schools, App Inventor for Android does not rely on conventional coding - instead, consumers visually design the application's appearance, using blocks to specify its behavior.

So long 2009... Year of the App Store?

People would be forgiven for thinking that 2009 was the year that the Application Store was invented. It is certainly true that Apple's iPhone made App Stores and Apps the big mobile story of the year, but there have been many App Store before, and the grand daddy is probably GetJar.

GetJar is the world’s largest cross platform app store with over a half billion downloads since launch in 2005. The site provides more than 50,000 mobile applications across all major handsets and platforms to consumers in more than 200 countries. The name of the site refferes to the JAR (or Java ARchive) file format that is used to distribute Java applications.

So why not give the site a try and see what they have for your phone... first you'll need to set your handset so that you get the right apps.

Just click on the phone icon (top right) and select your device. The selection process is very slick, and much better than many other sites. If you browse to http://www.getjar.com/ on your mobile it will auto detect your handset.

There are lots of free applications, and plenty of pay ones too, for pretty much every handset, just remember to ensure you are on a data tarrif before downloading them all. If you try one may be you could post a comment about the download, and if it was any good.

Happy New Year.