Android go boom! Mobile analytics points to explosion of development

Mobile analytics firm Flurry has released stats that show a huge growth in the number of people developing for the Android operating system. In just one month, from September to October, Flurry data shows that the number of Android project starts has almost doubled.

Who is Flurry?

Flurry runs a free “by developers for developers” analytics service. The data is collected in-application, and developers can access Flurry data completely free of charge. The company claims that its data collection service, Flurry Analytics, is gathering info from over two thirds of all Android devices in the world.

What’s the news?

Flurry data is showing that as the number of high-end Android devices is increasing, the number of developers creating apps for the OS is rocketing. The boom began with the launch of the MyTouch, Hero and Cliq devices, and is getting even stronger with the upcoming launch of the Droid from Motorola.

President and CO of Flurry, Simon Khalaf says that the “data shows that Android continues to gain interest from application developers, and that iPhone is no longer the only game in town. Developers who used to develop only for iPhone are now adding Android applications to their line up in record numbers.”

What we think?

Some estimates place the number of Android devices that could be on the market by the end of next year at 40 or more. Even if it’s only half of that, it’s still a potentially huge number of Android phones in pockets within a year or two. While the number of apps available for Android is still far smaller than for iPhone, there’s every indication that the Android Market will catch up… but I doubt it will exceed the iTunes Store any time soon, if ever. As Simon Khalaf says, more developers than ever are creating apps for both iPhone and Android. But I doubt many will start dropping their iPhone developments any time soon. The amount of Android apps in development could easily rise to match those for iPhone, as more and more developers simply do both at the same time.