Google’s Android Market is expected to begin accepting paid applications this week for the first time.
The move could provide a much-needed boost to the platform, which currently has around 800 applications.
This is far below what Apple’s App Store had achieved in its early months. Incidentally, the App Store has just passed the 20,000 mark for apps, with over 500 million downloads.
While Android Market’s position can partly be attributed to the G1 not being as popular as the iPhone, that’s not the whole story.
Another key element could be the fact developers haven’t been getting paid to come up with shiny new apps for Android.
With the incentive of remuneration thrown in, the desite to create software for the G1 and soon-to-be launched handset additions to the Android platform is likely to be much stronger.
Interestingly, Google is deviating from Apple’s revenue model in that it receives nothing from the downloading of paid apps.
Both app stores will give developers 70 per cent of the revenue, but whereas Apple pockets the other 30 per cent Google is passing it on to the carriers and to pay settlement fees.
Anything that gets the Andoid Market rolling has to be welcome, expecially as others – including RIM, Microsoft and Palm – are expected to launch their own app stores very soon.
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