According to Distimo’s May report, as of May 2011, there are over 200,000 apps in the Android Market, and I have about twenty on my phone. I don’t think I’m terribly unique, either. I’m sure some people have dozens or even a hundred apps on their phone, but most people only actively use a small number of apps. Even with half a million new Android activations daily, not every app is going to get a lot of usage. As app creators, it’s important to look at what people want.
Generally speaking, apps can be divided into utilities and games. According to the Distimo Report, in April 2011, two of the top ten free downloaded Android apps and three of the top ten paid apps were games. If you’re a game developer, this is pretty good news. People want games, and sometimes, they’re even willing to pay for them. Invent a great game, and even notoriously thrifty Android users will pull out their wallets for a chance at it.
The other apps that have made it divide into a couple of categories.
- Entertainment apps: music players, online radio apps, YouTube
- Phone productivity utilities: keyboard utilities, file managers, backup utilities.
- Social media apps: Facebook, chat utilities.
Interestingly, Facebook was downloaded less than YouTube. Being social comes after watching videos. What does this mean for app creators? The best bet is to entertain. Android users want games, videos, and music.
