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| Distribution of mobile app development |
Distribution
The two biggest app stores are Google Play for Android and App Store for iOS.
Google Play
Main article: Google Play Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market) is an international online software store developed by Google for Android devices. It opened in October 2008. In July 2013, the number of apps downloaded via the Google Play Store surpassed 50 billion, of the over 1 million apps available. As of September 2016, according to Statista the number of apps available exceeded 2.4 million. The store generated a revenue of 6 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.
App Store
Main article: App Store (iOS) Apple's App Store for iOS was not the first app distribution service, but it ignited the mobile revolution and was opened on July 10, 2008, and as of January 2011, reported over 10 billion downloads. The original AppStore was first demonstrated to Steve Jobs in 1993 by Jesse Tayler at NeXTWorld Expo As of June 6, 2011, there were 425,000 apps available, which had been downloaded by 200 million iOS users. During Apple's 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference, CEO Tim Cook announced that the App Store has 650,000 available apps to download as well as 30 billion apps downloaded from the app store until that date. From an alternative perspective, figures seen in July 2013 by the BBC from tracking service Adeven indicate over two-thirds of apps in the store are "zombies", barely ever installed by consumers.
Others
Amazon Appstore is an alternative application store for the Android operating system. It was opened in March 2011 and as of June 2015, the app store has nearly 334,000 apps. The Amazon Appstore's Android Apps can also be installed and run on BlackBerry 10 devices. BlackBerry World is the application store for BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS devices. It opened in April 2009 as BlackBerry App World. Ovi (Nokia) for Nokia phones was launched internationally in May 2009. In May 2011, Nokia announced plans to rebrand its Ovi product line under the Nokia brand and Ovi Store was renamed Nokia Store in October 2011. Nokia Store will no longer allow developers to publish new apps or app updates for its legacy Symbian and MeeGo operating systems from January 2014. Windows Phone Store was introduced by Microsoft for its Windows Phone platform, which was launched in October 2010. As of October 2012, it has over 120,000 apps available. Windows Store was introduced by Microsoft for its Windows 8 and Windows RT platforms. While it can also carry listings for traditional desktop programs certified for compatibility with Windows 8, it is primarily used to distribute "Windows Store apps"—which are primarily built for use on tablets and other touch-based devices (but can still be used with a keyboard and mouse, and on desktop computers and laptops). Samsung Apps was introduced in September 2009. As of October 2011, Samsung Apps reached 10 million downloads. The store is available in 125 countries and it offers apps for Windows Mobile, Android and Bada platforms. The Electronic AppWrapper was the first electronic distribution service to collectively provide encryption and purchasing electronically F-Droid — Free and open Source Android app repository. There are numerous other independent app stores for Android devices.