Android Apps Gain Momentum In iPhone App Store Battle

Navigon is set to release on December 10 MobileNavigator for Android, a voice-enabled GPS App for Google Android-based smartphones.

Navigon already sells a GPS navigation system for the iPhone.

The Navigon move to Android is just one sign of increasing App momentum for Google's Android.

MiKandi, a Seattle company, has also set up a Porn App Store for Google's Android. Apple, meanwhile, has shut the door on porn on the iPhone.

Some bloggers see the Porn App Store on Android as a sign that App momentum is accelerating on Google Android-based smartphones.

Erictric,a blog dedicated to the latest trends in technology, pointed to the Porn App Store as a sign of the momentum behind Google Android in the wake of Apple's heavy-handed treatment of developers.

Earlier this year, Apple pulled a "Hottest Girls" app from its iPhone App Store. What's more, Apple has been criticized for what Erictric refers to as "the Napoleonic emperor (Apple Inc.) monitoring your every move."

"Why do I purely attack Apple's App Store? Because they're the most prominent and most unethical of all App Stores for mobility," writes Erictric. "Open Source mobility is in. Consumers know what they want, and wouldn't rather have a large corporation decide what's appropriate or inappropriate for them. Consumers want the ability to push the limits with their devices, and utilize them to their full extent."

"People will use the unofficial app store for a few specific reasons," writes Eric. "The first of which is that someone is finally brave enough to produce such a store, and the second of what is that sex sells. This is already a success, and we're just learning about it today. You know what's better? There isn't anyone telling you 'no'."

"It's this type of freedom that will eventually drive consumers to Android," concluded Eric.

Among the other apps quickly gaining a following on Android are: Wapedia, an Android App from Taptu Limited that allows you to access Wikipedia on an Android-based phone; wpToGo, a word processor from RoundHill Labs for blogging on WordPress; and Spreadsheet, a professional spreadsheet program from Byte Squared.