Google says 10 billion apps downloaded for Android

Google announced today on its blog that its Android Marketplace has officially surpassed the 10 billion mark in apps downloaded:

One billion is a pretty big number by any measurement. However, when it’s describing the speed at which something is growing, it’s simply amazing. This past weekend, thanks to Android users around the world, Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads—with a growth rate of one billion app downloads per month. We can’t wait to see where this accelerating growth takes us in 2012.

The tech giant, headquartered in Mountain View, California, will commemorate this event by pricing certain apps for 10 cents over the next 10 days.

According to BBC News, the company's smartphone platform became the world's most popular operating system when it eclipsed Nokia's Symbian in 2011. Furthermore, even though the iPhone is the United States' best selling phone—and has roughly 20 billion total app downloads according to Tech Crunch—Android remains the most popular OS.

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"Recent sales figures show that Android’s share of new smartphone sales is twice Apple’s share," reported The New York Times. This is a huge difference compared to last year, "when the two companies were roughly even."

And growth is what the tech industry is all about.

Tech Crunch reported that Google sees one billion apps being installed every 30 days: "The number of new downloads per month is probably more important to developers figuring out which platforms to build for."

Geoff Blaber, from analysts CCS Insight, told the BBC that for the first half of 2012, Android will soon surpass Apple in app downloads.

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