Android keeps growing, and so does the number of free applications in Google’s Android Market–free apps now make up 60 percent of the digital storefront’s inventory, up 3 percent since May, according to new data issued by app store analytics firm Distimo. By comparison, Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile boasts the smallest percentage of free apps at 22 percent, with free apps making up 26 percent of both Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store for the iPad and Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry App World. Distimo offers multiple theories to explain the scarcity of premium Android apps: For one, developers in only nine countries are presently able to distribute paid applications via Android Market–moreover, paid apps are available in only 14 of the 46 countries that Android Market serves. Distimo adds that consumers must register for a Google Checkout account in order to download paid applications, except in locations where operator billing is available.

The challenges inherent in distributing and selling premium applications via Android Market have no doubt slowed developer interest in the platform. But Bloomberg reports that with consumer interest in Android exploding, an increasing number of developers are writing apps for the OS anyway, confident a major payday looms in the future. PopCap Games, creator of titles like Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, plans to introduce its first Android games later this year: “Even though we are not making any money on Android right now, we have pretty high hopes for it,” PopCap’s director of mobile business development Andrew Stein said. “There’s really no reason why users shouldn’t consume and buy content to the same extent on an Android phone as they are on an iPhone.”

Even so, developer frustration with Android is at an all-time high–in recent weeks, a series of prominent developers have publicly vented their problems with the platform. The most scathing comments originated via mobile software engineer Joe Hewitt, the developer responsible for social networking giant Facebook’s wildly popular iPhone application: “Android tools are horrendous, OS is hideous, but the absence of big brother telling me what to do gives it a slight edge,” he recently wrote on Twitter. Hewitt’s previous tweets include comments like “The more I work with Android the more it reminds me of Windows… as in, it’s really flexible, agnostic, and developer-friendly, but also really sloppily designed,” “Android fragmentation will hopefully stabilize within 2 years, and if not, at least people upgrade phones much more often than computers” and “Once a day or so it hits me that I am writing Java, and I cry a little.”

eBay Mobile product manager David Beach is a bit more complimentary, writing on his blog that “Creating an open source mobile platform was one of the smarter things Google has done. It’s too bad that they haven’t done that great of a job doing it. Android has succeeded despite Google. In fact it’s safe to say that Android is successful for one primary reason. The iPhone is only available on AT&T. If the iPhone was on Verizon a year ago, Android would be nowhere near as popular. But since this has yet to happen, Android has become a huge market that isn’t going away.” Beach concedes that it’s time for iPhone developers to begin writing for Android as well, but adds a number of caveats, among them the absence of human interface guidelines, a surplus of OS versions and handset models and Android Market’s clunky consumer experience. “There are some good things,” Beach adds. “Don’t get me wrong. In fact over the past nine months, I’ve sort of fallen in love with Android and all its quirks. It’s a tough love, but love nonetheless.”

Last but not least, Digital Chocolate founder Trip Hawkins pinpoints arguably the most significant reason why Android Market is so short on premium applications: Google’s commitment to allowing consumers to return a downloaded app within 24 hours for a full refund. Calling the refund policy “senseless and lazy,” Hawkins writes “When so many other things on the app store are already free and everything else is free for 24 hours, why would anyone pay for a game? Google defends this policy because they don’t want to police the store. I could understand this if Google were a new startup with a small staff incurring startup losses. But we are talking about Google! If Apple and others can pay attention to what is in their app store, surely Google can also do so. Google has ignored this problem and may remain in denial until 2011, when the widening deficit in their app quality compared with Facebook and Apple should finally motivate them to fix the problem.” It’s your move, Google. -Jason

By Jason Ankeny

Platform provider Rhomobile introduced version 2.1 of its Rhodes open source mobile application development framework, promising a series of user interface enhancements for enterprise and industrial app developers including barcode reading and signature capture as well as iPhone 4 enhancements like improved support for running in multitasked environments. Rhomobile launched Rhodes 1.0 in March 2009, touting a framework to rapidly build HTML-based native apps spanning all major smartphone operating systems–apps created via Rhodes work with synchronized local data and leverage device capabilities such as GPS, PIM contacts and camera.

Rhomobile also announced an extension of its RhoSync 2.0 scalable mobile sync server to Objective C developers. “We will be providing support for JavaScript clients as well soon, which will allow RhoSync to be used from any app on any smartphone whether or not that app was written with Rhodes (using JavaScript support in the browser components),” writes Rhomobile CEO Adam Blum on the firm’s blog.

For more on Rhodes 2.1:
- read this Rhomobile Blog entry

By Jason Ankeny

Hot on the heels of last week’s Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) media event touting the Sept. 8 release of the iOS 4.1 software update, the computing giant seeded the iOS SDK 4.1 Gold Master to registered developers, promising the introduction of new services as well as a host of bug fixes. iOS 4.1 is highlighted by the launch of Apple’s long-awaited Game Center service, enabling developers to more effectively incorporate multiplayer gaming tools into their applications–available as both a set of APIs and as a stand-alone iPhone application, Game Center also features social media tools, making it easier for consumers to discover new titles as well as live opponents. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, iOS devices now outsell mobile gaming units from traditional videogame giants like Sony and Nintendo.

Also new in iOS 4.1: High Dynamic Range photo capabilities, which Jobs said can combine several different photos, taken quickly together, to produce clearer images. He said the platform also will enable users to upload HD video over WiFi, rather than requiring users to plug their device into a computer. iOS 4.1 additionally fixes bugs impacting the iPhone 4’s proximity sensor, Bluetooth capabilities and the performance of the iPhone 3G–users have complained that iOS 4 slowed iPhone 3G devices. Jobs said Apple will unveil iOS 4.2 in November, touting iPad additions like multitasking and folders.

Jobs said Apple has now shipped 120 million iOS devices and activates 230,000 new devices every day, adding the latter figure doesn’t include upgrades–a not-so-subtle jab at rival Google, which recently said it activates 200,000 new Android devices a day. (“The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services,” Google told Fortune in response to Jobs’ comment.) Apple’s App Store now offers consumers their choice of more than 250,000 applications–downloads from the digital storefront total 6.5 billion.

For more on the iOS 4.1 SDK:
- check out the iOS Dev Center

Related articles:
Apple issues iOS 4.1 beta update to developers
Apple adds iOS 4 application section to App Store
Apple issues iOS 4 update to iPhone 3GS and iPod touch
Apple now accepting iOS 4 app submissions

By Jason Ankeny

Palm unveiled the first release of its webOS 2.0 SDK, available for download here to all registered members of the device maker’s Early Access developer program. Chief among the enhancements in webOS 2.0: APIs for Palm Synergy, which automatically brings together user information like linked contacts, layered calendars and combined messaging into one single, integrated view. Developers can now merge their applications with the Contacts, Calendar and Messaging services, with other webOS data types on tap. The revamp also features Stacks, described by Palm Developer Community manager Chuq Von Rospach as an evolution of the multitasking card-shuffling metaphor introduced in webOS 1.0–the new operating system groups related cards in stacks, effectively reducing clutter and simplifying toggling between tasks.

In addition, webOS 2.0 boasts Just Type, a renamed and revamped Universal Search tool making it easier for users to update their social network status, set reminders and complete other in-app tasks. Also new: Exhibition, which introduces a special full-screen mode optimized for passive enjoyment and utility when devices are docked. “A handful of compelling Exhibition options will be built into webOS 2.0, but we’re counting on you and your fellow developers to make Exhibition truly great,” Von Rospach writes. “You can add Exhibition support to an existing app, or build something new just for Exhibition.”

webOS 2.0 additionally builds in the Node.js runtime environment, offering developers the flexibility to build services in JavaScript. The OS also adds a host of HTML5 features and enhancements. “These are just the highlights,” Von Rospach notes. “We’ve added a lot of features that will give your apps more power and flexibility than ever.” Palm is scheduled to release webOS 2.0 sometime during the remainder of 2010.

For more on the webOS 2.0 SDK:
- read this Palm Developer Center Blog entry

Related articles:
Palm to release webOS 2.0 ‘later this year’
Palm issues webOS 1.4.5 update for Pre and Pixi
HP promises to expand webOS platform post-Palm deal
Palm launches 3D games on webOS

By Jason Ankeny

Android keeps growing, and so does the number of free applications in Google’s Android Market–free apps now make up 60 percent of the digital storefront’s inventory, up 3 percent since May, according to new data issued by app store analytics firm Distimo. By comparison, Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile boasts the smallest percentage of free apps at 22 percent, with free apps making up 26 percent of both Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store for the iPad and Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry App World. Distimo offers multiple theories to explain the scarcity of premium Android apps: For one, developers in only nine countries are presently able to distribute paid applications via Android Market–moreover, paid apps are available in only 14 of the 46 countries that Android Market serves. Distimo adds that consumers must register for a Google Checkout account in order to download paid applications, except in locations where operator billing is available.

The challenges inherent in distributing and selling premium applications via Android Market have no doubt slowed developer interest in the platform. But Bloomberg reports that with consumer interest in Android exploding, an increasing number of developers are writing apps for the OS anyway, confident a major payday looms in the future. PopCap Games, creator of titles like Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, plans to introduce its first Android games later this year: “Even though we are not making any money on Android right now, we have pretty high hopes for it,” PopCap’s director of mobile business development Andrew Stein said. “There’s really no reason why users shouldn’t consume and buy content to the same extent on an Android phone as they are on an iPhone.”

Even so, developer frustration with Android is at an all-time high–in recent weeks, a series of prominent developers have publicly vented their problems with the platform. The most scathing comments originated via mobile software engineer Joe Hewitt, the developer responsible for social networking giant Facebook’s wildly popular iPhone application: “Android tools are horrendous, OS is hideous, but the absence of big brother telling me what to do gives it a slight edge,” he recently wrote on Twitter. Hewitt’s previous tweets include comments like “The more I work with Android the more it reminds me of Windows… as in, it’s really flexible, agnostic, and developer-friendly, but also really sloppily designed,” “Android fragmentation will hopefully stabilize within 2 years, and if not, at least people upgrade phones much more often than computers” and “Once a day or so it hits me that I am writing Java, and I cry a little.”

eBay Mobile product manager David Beach is a bit more complimentary, writing on his blog that “Creating an open source mobile platform was one of the smarter things Google has done. It’s too bad that they haven’t done that great of a job doing it. Android has succeeded despite Google. In fact it’s safe to say that Android is successful for one primary reason. The iPhone is only available on AT&T. If the iPhone was on Verizon a year ago, Android would be nowhere near as popular. But since this has yet to happen, Android has become a huge market that isn’t going away.” Beach concedes that it’s time for iPhone developers to begin writing for Android as well, but adds a number of caveats, among them the absence of human interface guidelines, a surplus of OS versions and handset models and Android Market’s clunky consumer experience. “There are some good things,” Beach adds. “Don’t get me wrong. In fact over the past nine months, I’ve sort of fallen in love with Android and all its quirks. It’s a tough love, but love nonetheless.”

Last but not least, Digital Chocolate founder Trip Hawkins pinpoints arguably the most significant reason why Android Market is so short on premium applications: Google’s commitment to allowing consumers to return a downloaded app within 24 hours for a full refund. Calling the refund policy “senseless and lazy,” Hawkins writes “When so many other things on the app store are already free and everything else is free for 24 hours, why would anyone pay for a game? Google defends this policy because they don’t want to police the store. I could understand this if Google were a new startup with a small staff incurring startup losses. But we are talking about Google! If Apple and others can pay attention to what is in their app store, surely Google can also do so. Google has ignored this problem and may remain in denial until 2011, when the widening deficit in their app quality compared with Facebook and Apple should finally motivate them to fix the problem.” It’s your move, Google. -Jason

By Jason Ankeny