14 DAY TRIAL // ABI Research has released the results of a new Mobile Applications Market study highlighting the huge download rate for Apple’s iPad, and the tough road that lays ahead for Android tablets.
According to the research, iPad users have cumulatively downloaded three billion applications since the launch of the original tablet almost two years ago.
The results show that this was 19% of all cumulative downloads by Apple users, and pegs the iPhone for comparison.
ABI Research says it took roughly two years to achieve this level of downloads on the iPhone. Then again, when the iPad came out people were already very familiar with the iTunes App Store, so they already knew what to do once they got their hands on the tablet.
In contrast, Android-based devices have only managed to cumulate 440 million downloads thus far.
However, that’s not to say things won’t pick up for the platform now that manufacturers are starting to adopt the recently-released Android 4.0, also referred to as Ice Cream Sandwich.
Hardware vendors are also said to be accelerating product development “to close up the specifications gap between their tablets,” according to the research.
“Discounting all those apps that were originally developed for Android smartphones, Android still trails greatly behind the iPad in terms of its tablet app offerings,” says research associate Lim Shiyang.
“Many Android tablets in the market are still using older versions of Android, which disadvantages users from enjoying the better effects of apps produced from more advanced software development kits,” Shiyang adds.
ABI Research isn’t shy of touting the actual apps as well. According to their report, “Apple’s iPad apps are generally considered to be of a better quality compared to Android tablet-specific apps.”
There were 120,000 apps published specifically for the iPad as of Q3 2011, the paper reveals.
“In terms of hardware, the iPad device still offers much more compared to the current crop of tablets in the market,” said Dan Shey, practice director, mobile services.
According to Mr. Shey, “Android is currently being used on many low end tablets that do not offer experiences anywhere near the iPad and this dampens the download momentum for users.”