The Wonderful Birth Of Android Apps, Safe And Otherwise
Tech Friday, July 23rd, 2010Android apps are literally going off the charts. These apps ( applications ) that are accompanying the Android operating system are more popular than Lady Gaga. Okay, that is not true, but they are taking off like a space shuttle. Read more to find out the facts on Android apps, safe and otherwise.
At the beginning of last July to this month ( July ) the amount of Android apps available to users went from just over 5000 to just under 100,000 apps. That is around a 2000 percent increase ! That is close to 260 apps being made every single day since last July. Do you think these little programs may be popular ? You bet they are. Finding out that the man who invented the cell phone uses the Android operating system may have had something to do with this.
Taking a general look at how these Android apps get approved reveals the mind of Google. They believe in “guidelines”, while Apple believes in “rules”. Getting an Android app approved in the market is accomplished in record time, since there is no pre-approval process. The userbase is expected to flag malicious apps. With Apple, an app usually gets approved in around fourteen days with twenty percent not making it through. This process is speeding up though. The general idea is that there is less supervision behind the release of an Android app.
Is this safe ? For now, there seems to be a general consensus of; “Yes.”. One of the most downloaded Android apps recently ( April ) was “Paper Toss”. This is a game that is just like its name sounds. You try to throw a wadded up piece of paper in a trash can. It is harmless. On the other hand, the “Droid09″ app was also a part of the Android lineup until it was found out that it was stealing the personal banking information of users. A credit union named First Tech had to do some damage control thanks to the antics of a developer going by the name of “F-Secure” and their Droid09 app.
Looking on the bright side, carriers like LG are bringing out the newest and fastest version of Android to date. It is called Froyo and is number 2.2. Even iDEN phones are coming out with Android operating systems and can use Android apps to sweeten the life of their users. This is the work of the modern day smartphone; to make our lives more convenient. Android with their apps are doing that it new ways. Google Goggle can take a photo of an object, for example a book. The app then sends that off to the web, identifies it, and sends purchase information back to the smartphone. It even sends back local purchase information.
A new free app from Android called; “Trip Advisor” has just been released. It has 35 million reviews of various locations in the world. All those reviews can go into your pocket ? They sure can, and they can because of Android. Other apps can keep you in contact in real time with your friends or business associates. Still others can light up the night, or tell you where parking spaces are. It seems the sky is the limit.
Staying safe with your Android powered smartphone is similar to walking down the street in an unfamiliar town. Listen to your common sense, and ask around about where you should go. If an app turns out to be bad, it is probably going to be easy to find this out online with a quick search. Look for more reviews on Android apps, because, as you found out, around 260 new ones just came out today.
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