Dev expects hardware to balance the market

Korean mobile developer Com2uS reportedly achieves only half of the download volume for its Android apps compared to the same offerings for the iPhone. The developer, which claims to be the leader in Korea, offers many of its apps simultaneously on both platforms.

Baseball game Home Run Battle was downloaded an average of 400 to 500 times each day for the first few months of availability in the Android Market, with recent sales slowing to just 200 to 300 downloads. The app reached the top of a list comparing the most popular paid apps, although revenue estimates suggest the company only brought in $200,000 to $250,000 so far.

Downloads from iTunes are usually twice as large as downloads from Android," Com2uS general manager Don Kim told Business Insider in an interview. "If you look at the number one on iPhone and the number one on Android, it's a lot bigger on the iPhone."

Google has been known to actively promote the Android Market to iPhone developers. The company reportedly gave away free Nexus One handsets to developers, as an incentive to rewrite apps for Android. The new Android App Inventor utility is also expected to attract new developers, as it eliminates the need to learn code for creating simple apps.

Despite the App Store's ongoing dominance in the mobile arena, Kim believes that Android will continue to close the gap. The executive suggests the iPhone established an early lead due to its superior specs at the time, however several of the latest high-end Android offerings should help level the playing field.

By Electronista Staff