Blog

A mobile analytics firm named Flurry assembled this chart, plotting the percentage of newly registered iPhone and Android app projects over time.

The rise and fall of each platform feels like a blow by blow of major product announcements/launches.

The January Apple app development boost, for instance, is attributed to the iPad (despite it being announced in the waning days of the month). While, it would probably be safe to attribute Android’s strong December to the Droid and maybe even teases of the Nexus One. Android’s July spike gets a bit more tricky, but the European release of the HTC Hero may have something to do with it.

The up and down levels are likely because of the launch of new devices. The level of Android apps jumped in December, likely because of the Droid launch and ADC2. Meanwhile, that level decreased in January while the level of iPhone apps jumped significantly in the run-up to the iPad announcement.

It’s important to reiterate that there’s an overall growth of Android apps. However, the chart indicates that there’s a definite link between that growth rate and the iPhone. It has been suggested in the past that limited resources force small companies and independent developers to do a cost-benefit analysis of which platforms to support. The Android Developer’s Contest and big ticket items like the Hero, Droid, and Nexus Onehave helped encourage development.

I strongly believe that the iPhone OS will always command more attention from developers, especially if the iPad proves successful, but it’s interesting to see that there are ways to divert attention to Android at times. Let’s hope that the rising number of users switching to Android makes the bottom half of that chart rise.
Source:gizmodo.com, androinica.com