If developer enthusiasm is any guide, the iPad should hit the ground running with third-party applications. The number of developers starting new application projects for the iPhone OS that will
power Apple's tablet device nearly tripled in January over the prior month to more than 1600, according to mobile app analytics firm Flurry.
"As such, we hypothesize that excitement
generated by Apple's iPad event in January is driving this growth. For developers who get a jump on customizing their applications for the iPad, there may be an opportunity to stand out early on, and
earn more downloads," stated a new Flurry report.
While new application starts for Google's rival
Android platform have increased steadily over the second half of 2009 -- averaging 25% monthly growth -- that trajectory has tailed off following the iPad announcement. "The unprecedented surge in
support for iPad is a positive early indicator for its commercial potential," concluded the analytics firm. Apple boasts an iPhone developer community of 150,000.
When it comes to app usage
patterns so far, the iPhone and Android have proven to be strikingly similar. People tend to use apps on both operating systems for the same periods of time, with interaction gradually declining at
the same rate over a six-month period.
Flurry attributes the identical trend to Android handsets attracting users, similar to the iPhone and the overall improvement of Android phones. Plus, more
developers are creating Android versions of new apps.
The frequency and length of app user sessions also varied little between the two mobile platforms across categories such as games,
entertainment, lifestyle, news and social networking. What does that mean?
"Our ultimate conclusion is that the content trumps the platform," states the report. "Just like the brand of
flat-screen TV doesn't affect how much one enjoys a movie she is watching, the new class of touchscreen smartphones doesn't impact how well the user enjoys a game, social networking or other kind of
application."
In other words, smartphones are becoming increasingly commoditized as media players. But with 135,000 apps, Apple still offers more than six times as many titles as the Android
Market.
