Android app count catches up to iOS

Android has essentially caught up to the iOS App Store when it comes to the number of apps and games it offers, a first for the Google Play marketplace since it launched four years ago. Google Play (formerly Android Market) now has around 700,000 smartphone and tablet apps available from developers, according to a report from Bloomberg -- that's the same amount of apps Apple championed last week for its respective mobile storefront. Apple, which had a three-month head-start on Google Play with the early launch of its App Store, has used its number of offered apps as a selling point for iPhones and iPads for several years, often comparing the amount to its competitors. Though Google's marketplace has taken that advantage away, Android devices still haven't caught up to iOS in terms of downloaded games and apps. As of last September, Android users had downloaded 25 billion apps, compared to the 35 billion reported by Apple last week (Apple has also paid out $6.5 billion to developers). Meanwhile Microsoft is rolling out its new Windows Phone 8 platform and supporting devices, and the company offers around 120,000 apps on its mobile store. ComScore estimates that Windows smartphones have only a 3.6 percent marketshare among U.S. mobile subscribers, far behind iOS (34.3 percent) and Android (52.6 percent) devices.