Android Market achieves new milestone with 400,000 active apps

Android Market gains momentum in mobile app marketplace thanks to wide array of free apps.

Google’s Android Market now has over 400,000 apps available, thanks in large part to its status as the largest provider of free apps for mobile tech consumers.

The report on Google’s app milestone was released this week by app analytical firm Distimo, and though it took the company longer to hit the 400,000 mark than Apple’s App Store — it took Google 31 months to reach the mark, and Apple only 22 months — Google’s growth from 300,000 to 400,000 apps (and from 200,000 to 300,000 apps) occurred in less time than it did for Apple.

In contrast, Apple’s App Store now features over 500,000 active apps, though the two stores differ greatly in terms of revenue.

More than 68 percent of the Android Market apps are free, and the store generates the bulk of its revenue from the “freemium” model — in which users pay for additional content beyond what’s provided in the basic, free app. Less than half of Apple’s revenue comes from free apps, and the store relies more on paid apps for revenue.

Overall, Apple collects almost four times as much revenue from its App Store as Google receives from the Android Market.