An App Store On Every Block

In real towns, every block seems to be filled with banks, but in the online world, the neighborhood is adding more App Stores. Of course the leader is Apple and it's iTunes and iPhone App library. And Google is making a strong run with it's Android App Store. The latest to enter the fray is Amazon. "The retailer is aiming to tap rising demand for games and entertainment that can be downloaded on mobile phones. That market, which is being pursued by more than 30 app stores, may rise to $40 billion by 2014 from $14.3 billion last year, according to Booz & Co. Competitors are trying to grab business from Google’s own Android Market, which has rankled some users for being cumbersome."

And as more devices enter the market, including the introduction of the iPad 2, they bring in more users and of course more demand for more apps. And while the cost per app may be a few pennies, the volume of sales is enormous. While Apple has the exclusivity, Android does not. And so Amazon and Google will be fighting over a smaller market share while Apple continues to enjoy all the growth. Still the market is growing and competition over the expectation of growing revenues just might bring in even more players.