by Henry Case

Created on: October 22, 2010

The Android Market is the official app used to download applications for Android devices. The Market is preloaded on all Android phones and can be used to find anything from word processors to poker games.

The Market allows users to either search for applications or browse through categories of the most popular paid and free applications. The Android market, however, is not the only place to get applications for your Android phone from.

Unlike Apple, the Android operation system is open and allows users to download third-party software. Third-party software is anything that is not approved or available of the official Market, or in Apple's case, the App Store.

Apple requires app developers to submit applications for approval to the App Store. Apple has the final say, and if they don't like something they can deny the app. The only way to download applications on the iPhone is through the App Store, unless you jailbreak your phone. The process of jail breaking involves using software written by hackers to unlock the iPhone.

Android, on the other hand, allows its users to download third-party software. There are pros and cons to this approach. The biggest potential problem with having an open system is the possibility of malware, viruses and other harmful software being downloaded onto your phone.

The benefits of an open architecture are more control for developers, which allows them to create better applications.

According to the official Android Developers website, "by providing an open development platform, Android offers developers the ability to build extremely rich and innovative applications. Developers are free to take advantage of the device hardware, access location information, run background services, set alarms, add notifications to the status bar, and much, much more."

So, while the Android Market is not the only source of applications for Android devices, it is the most popular one. Programs downloaded on the Market can also be transferred or shared to other phones. An application know as "Bump", which is available for free on the Market, also two people to simply bump their phones together to transfer files between each other, including applications.

The Android Market has been growing by thousands of applications each month, and had about 150,000 apps available for download as of late October, 2010. The Apple App Store was still ahead, with more than 300,000 apps available at the same time, but the Android Market has been growing at a faster pace since the first Android phone debuted in late 2008.

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