Android Market a Big Hit among Developers and Customers

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by Franz Bicar

A month after its release, the Android-based G1 phone is already a big hit in the mobile market. It has become even bigger with the launch of the Android Marketplace where a Google executive said that the average user of the phone downloads over 14 applications out of the 200 now available on the Marketplace.

At the Wireless Communications Association International conference in San Jose, California, Eric Chu, group marketing manager for the Android Mobile Platform said that application developers and chip and handset manufacturers are happy with the Android platform and the Marketplace, especially since Android was made open source following the introduction of the G1 by T-Mobile USA Inc. last month.

A lot of developers were already waiting on the Android even before its release, so it’s no surprise that the developers embraced the open-source OS that easily. Chu further claimed that developers have been happy with the channel, which currently offers all applications free. A true open-source community is also building around the Android platform itself, with nearly 50 contributions from outside parties so far, including comments on code and drivers from chip companies, he said.

However, once developers can charge for their software, a change expected in the first quarter of next year, 70 percent of the revenue will go to the developers. Of the remaining 30 percent, a small portion will cover the cost of the transaction, such as credit-card transaction fees, and most of the rest will go to the mobile operator.

Developers have been happy with the statistics on downloads from the Marketplace, as mobile data use has been very high on the G1. Google has seen huge spikes in activity as consumers use the browser, Google Maps, and various Google and third-party services.