Android Market hits 50,000 apps

Launched in October 2008, the Android Market now has 50,000 apps to choose from in its application marketplace.

While not nearly as quick as the iPhone to 50,000 apps, which Apple achieved within a year, the Android Market is proving to be the alternative market for mobile apps.  The Android Market was announced on August 28, 2008 and was made available to users two months later.  This weekend, it passed the 50,000 app mark.

Apple currently has almost 200,000 apps in the App Store, and notably has started purging certain types of apps, like the those in the "sexy-to-porn" category.  In fact, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in an email to a customer, "You know, there's a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That's a place we don't want to go – so we're not going to go there".

Google (GOOG) has also been forced to remove tethering apps in its US Android Market due to contractual agreements with T-Mobile, though developers who enable their phones for development can get those applications running on their Android phones.

With hot new Android devices like the Dell Mini 5 and Sprint Evo waiting in the wings, the market for Android apps shows no sign of slowing.