With app stores sprouting up like kudzu, it takes a lot to get me excited about new ones or even new features inside old ones.  I have to make an exception for the Android Market, which I think is by far the most sophisticated.  Is the Android market better than the Apple App Store?

A Little History

The Android market has been available to end users since October 2008 and I got my first taste of it when I looked at the T-Mobile G1. Back then I was questioning the trade-offs between the degree of openness and the benefits and issues it could pose for consumers.  Funny that that debate is still going on today.  Back then there were only a few applications available and now there are reportedly over 200,000.

The Web Site

I know, strange to be writing about the web site portion of an app store, but that’s where Android Market is differentiated.  Go to https://market.android.com and you can see every Android App you have ever downloaded or purchased on every Android Device you have in use.  You can also buy and remote install and see all of your Android devices.

“My Devices”

This section shows every Android Device currently registered with the Android Market, the telco carrier, when it was registered, and when it was last used.  This is very helpful especially to those with multiple Android Devices and those who may be concerned about the security of their devices or accounts.  I was glad to see that my older devices I had reset or returned weren’t on the list.   I’d like to be able to delete devices, though.

“My Orders”

This section of the site shows every application I have ever downloaded or purchased, its category, price, date, and status of the application.  The status shows whether there is an update not yet downloaded.  It’s nice when I get a new Android device to be able to go and see exactly what I had purchased previously.

Buy Once, Install On Many

Click on the name of the app and it goes to the full-function app page.  Once you click to purchase any of the apps you can choose to install them on ANY of your Android Devices.  That’s right, from the web page, you can send the application to any of the mobile devices to be downloaded and installed.  I don’t even have to be on the remote devices like a phone or tablet or click anything.  It just works, and works in about 3-5 seconds. Also, mobile devices that are already installed with the app are greyed out so you don’t reinstall.

In the future, I would like to see an “Install On All” toggle button so I could install the app on all my Android devices with a single click.

Who Cares?

First of all, I don’t have any proprietary information into what the next generation Android market holds. The benefits Google’s approach brings today are only the tip of the iceberg for what it could do in the future with their raw infrastructure building blocks:

• Extend to other Google platforms: If you are into all things Google, you could buy an application once and then simply have your apps installed on any Android device.  Think the future of Android in phones, tablets, PCs, TVs, DMAs, smart displays, cars, AV receiver, refrigerators, medical devices anything that runs Android.
• Business app install: If you run client applications in the enterprise or are the guy who runs IT at the local real estate agency, press one button and your business app is installed on your “users” client devices.
• Fragmentation user backstop: We have all heard of the “Android fragmentation” discussion.  It centers on ISVs and the end consumers.  For the end consumer, they get shielded from fragmentation or incompatibilities because the Android Market could have enough logic in it to know if the app is compatible.
• Hassle free install on new devices: One of the biggest pains if you are forced to reset any device or even buy a new one is that you spend hours reinstalling applications.  Android already has a few features which help with that, and features like Motorola MotoBlur take it a step further, but it could be even easier.  I’d like to see the option that if you need to reset the device, you could install every application back onto your device in every folder and in the same position.  I stress “option” because if you reset due to a bad application, then you don’t want to reinstall it.
• Today apps, tomorrow all content: Today the Android market enables apps and books.  Why not music and video tomorrow?
• Kid management: As a parent I too pretend that I won’t get sucked into managing the kid’s devices.  Fact is, even as easy as an iPhone or Android phone is, I’m still the IT guy.  If all my family’s gadgets were on this service, I could not only manage what is downloaded and even send them apps, but also see what my kids have downloaded and monitor appropriateness ad-hoc.

Conclusion

The Android Market, by giving end users control of their apps and devices, provides huge benefits to Android-based devices today.  This is especially true with the remote install feature.  From a web browser, install an app on a device that’s not even near you, with one click I may add. I think the biggest benefits will come in the future to help enable Google’s bigger aspirations.

Have thoughts?  Let me know below.

Pat Moorhead is Corporate Vice President and Corporate Marketing Fellow and a Member of the Office of Strategy at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied.

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