We recently blogged about the long term perspective of the App Store and issues regarding the app approval process that still have not been resolved. There are more issues than just app approval adding to many developer complaints. Again picking up this topic, we wanted to add that all of these are probably not issues that will make or break the Apple App Store in the short term. Android has been picking up momentum in terms of numbers of apps and devices, so there were a few articles picking up the topic of Apple risking to lose their developer to Android or other platforms.

This article reveals what the situation is probably really like for almost every developer. It also reveals a simple truth: it’s about (potential) traction and users. The mentioned article refers to a Gameloft earnings call on Q3 2009 sales. In this call Gameloft revealed that for the three-month period sales of iPhone apps were 400 times higher than for Android apps. At the same time, this implies that Gameloft has made about 10,000 Euro from their Android titles in that quarter. We think these numbers speak for themselves. As a consequence, Gameloft has now cut their investment in the Android platform, which, regarding the mentioned numbers, appears only to be common sense.

So summing it up without delving further into the pros and cons of the different App Stores: Android appears to have some work to do to get its users to download and pay for apps. Until a competitor with the same kind of traction and usability shows up, the complaints and discussions about the Apple App Storewill probably only lead to minor improvements.