Free Android apps now outnumber free iPhone apps, says analyst

The app battle has been heating up for some time. While Apple CEO Steve Jobs was happy to mock the Android Honeycomb app tally at the iPad 2 launch, the number of apps offered by Google’s mobile OS has quickly been building. Case in point is a news release from mobile phone industry analysts Distimo, which claims that the number of free Android apps now outnumbers the number of free iPhone apps.

The exact numbers – according to the release – are 134,342 free Android apps to 121,845 free iPhone apps. It’s a boon for Android but it’s worth noting that this doesn’t take duplicates into account. It’s also worth remembering that, whereas Apple quite stringently vet iOS apps, Android is a veritable free-for-all.

Apple is still edging in front in terms of paid apps. The iPhone boasts 333,124 apps in total (combining free and paid-for), while Android’s total is a less impressive 206,143 – it’s a discrepancy accounted for mainly by the number of premium applications. Android owners need not fear, though; Distimo claims that the Android Market will completely overtake Apple’s App Store in around Q4 2011.

Does the number of apps really matter? Or is it more about quality? Let us know on the Gadget Helpline Twitter feed.