Less is more: the 200′000 apps myth

A ridiculous race is going on in the world of Smartphones, with each competitor boasting about the number of available apps for his platform. With Apple talking of 200′000 apps and Android claiming 50′000 apps (similar to what Palm offered in earlier years, and probably similar to Symbian), a new platform such as Maemo 5 sometimes faces a difficult stand, with casual users coming from other platforms complaining about too few apps (only hundreds…) After years of smartphone experience as user and developer, having my first app on Maemo reaching 100′000 downloads, programming a first iPhone enterprise app and spending a few evenings of App Store analysis , I believe it’s high time to debunk the app numbers craze: IMHO,  a high number of apps reflects the shortcomings of a platform as much as its mass market success

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